Sunday, March 29, 2009

True Madness

So I will admit I don't follow college basketball very closely at all 49 weeks out of the year.

It's pretty much that I just don't care enough. To stay interested in the game, I need someone to cheer for. And to know who to cheer for, I need a personal connection of some sort with one of the teams.

BYU is the only team I've ever really cared about (even if they never make it past the first round). It's in my blood. Somehow, even living in Kansas since age 10, I've never felt a strong connection to the Jayhawks (Sorry, Katie).

But that all changes in March.

I fill out a bracket. Since I don't follow the teams, I really have no legit way to judge who I think will win, so my choices are mainly arbitrary (sometimes I have systems, like which mascot would win in a fight, or who I like better if I know people from the state). I love to pick upsets, but usually pick way too many and pick the wrong ones.

But the point is, all of a sudden, I care. I cheer for teams I didn't really even know existed the week before (Morehead State, anyone? Binghamton?). But they matter to me now because I wrote their name in my bracket.

Also, I LOVE to watch people watch March Madness. Especially in the first round, because there are so many games. My favorite place to March Madness people watch is the Wilk Terrace. The people just get so into it. I love it.

So I just wanted to announce that my bracket is kind of treating me well right now.
This is so unprecedented. After the first weekend of play, I was ranked lower than 3 million in espn.com's rankings. I am currently 264,773. Maybe not too exciting to most of you, but I feel great about it. I'm even ranked number one in my friends pool. Holla.

Small hiccup: I picked KU to win it all. First time in a while I have done that--and they let me down. So as this is the highest I will probably be ranked during the tournament, I'm sharing it now.

Why am I writing this right now when I'm already sleep-deprived and should be reading my Evidence homework?
There are some questions I just don't know the answer to.


P.S. Birthday shout-out today goes to Grandpa Crane. March 29, 1905 - August 1996. What an incredible man.

1 comment:

Carrie said...

Nice game. I know that I definitely lose interest in the games as soon as my picks start losing. Winning is the best part--go you!