NCAA basketball. I lost already.

Well, there goes my hope of winning all the marbles in the March Madness NCAA tournament. Those pesky underdogs have wiped me out. Cheeaashe! I spend every spare moment, and there are precious few of those in my life, for the past three months studying the stats and composing my strategy. Who is on top of their game? Which team is actually plating as a team? What school got to the tournament simply on the efforts of only one or two players? Things like depth, versatility, ability to score, defense and emotional level. Putting all those things together is how you win in these bracket games. Ha!

Two games in particular and up to seven games over the course of opening day chipped away at my picks and by this morning my bracket pick page sits wadded up in the round file. So, is there a reason to watch the tournament any more? Yeeah! This is some of the most powerful and emotional basketball to be played in any given year. There isn't a bad game in the bunch. From here on I switch my strategy from going for a win on the bracket to rooting for my schools of choice. Maybe this is even more fun. Now I feel more like those students and alumni in the bleachers rooting on their team. I am free of any materialistic agenda. I don't have an Alma Mater in the hunt at this point. I have no favorites. From here on I root for another reason. Now my bets are on a Catholic college from just about anywhere. Gonzaga is always first of course. They have a great program with integrity and the coach is a real stand up guy. A few years back they surprised everyone by getting into the finals. I hope they do it again. Being from a catholic school background I can appreciate for various reasons the value of competitive sports in any educational program. Besides, in a tournament like this its a lot more fun when you root for someone. This gives me someone. Usually one of them hangs around to the sweet sixteen or the elite eight and occasionally the final four.

So I'm not a threat to you as far as winning the bracket thing at your office, club or bar. You are one person closer to winning it all. NCAA basketball! Aaaaah, what a game!.................Joe