JONATHAN SAYS- March Madness has taken over my mind

Usually I write about more than one topic, but the men’s NCAA
Tournament has taken over. For me, it’s a love-hate type of thing.
I absolutely love the tournament. From Selection Sunday to the
national championship, my eyes stay glued to the television. It’s
great to watch mid-major teams play above their expected level
and knock off the big teams. It’s fun running home from class at
lunch to catch 30 minutes of the afternoon games and coming
home at night to the late games. In general, it’s just great having
basketball on-ALL THE TIME.

On the other hand, all the things I just listed are what make
me go insane. Thanks to the fun that is filling out tournament
brackets, watching basketball in the month of March is like
riding a roller coaster a bunch of times, getting off for a few
minutes to breathe and drink a Coke and getting right back on.
Unfortunately, it’s not a smooth-riding roller coaster. It’s more
like Busch Gardens Europe’s roller coaster Loch Ness Monster,
which perhaps triggers the biggest headache I could ever have.

Although it’s fun to watch those mid-majors win, they manage
to ruin my bracket every year. For instance, this year I had Connecticut
going to the Final Four. Now, the Huskies weren’t the
great team we have become accustomed to seeing as of late, but
I thought they had the potential to make it far into the tournament.
I did not see them losing to upset-minded San Diego in the
first round. As for having games on all the time-it’s great until
the CBS scoreboard across the top of the screen shows all your
teams losing, forcing you to not only watch a nail-biting game
but the scores directly above it. And heaven forbid the team you
are cheering for pulls out a big victory-because it’s a guarantee
that another of your teams will lose to an underdog. “Days of
Our Lives” can’t match the drama found on CBS.

By the end of the tournament, I’m sure I won’t be the only
one that feels a few years older, a few pounds heavier (who has
time for real food when Mount St. Mary’s and Coppin St. are
on?) and no less wiser. Come next March, I’ll be ready to do it
all over again.