The past few days, and the next few too, are dedicated to the hoop dreams and the insanity we’ve come to know and love as March Madness. Even if you haven’t watched a game all year, there’s a certain energy that comes with having an empty bracket and an ink pen in your hand. There’s something exciting about cheering for your favorite teams and secretly hoping that somewhere along the way, we get to witness a basketball version of David taking down Goliath.
You might draw your bracket by the seeds and rankings; you might do it by choosing which mascot or team colors you like better. (Even if you’re an ESPN commentator, you can’t tell me thoughts like “I’m pretty sure the Crimson Tide would drown a Tiger and I think a Wildcat would eat a Flying Dutchman alive” have never crossed your mind.) No matter your process, there’s just something special about feeling like you’re a part of the madness and the unwritten guarantee that there will be comebacks, upsets, and buzzer-beating wins you didn’t think would be possible doesn’t hurt either. Without a doubt, there will be plenty of edge-of-your-seat, give-it-all-you’ve-got basketball this weekend.
I filled out a bracket earlier this week, in ink, because I learned a few years ago that brackets in pencil are deemed completely unacceptable. Ink means you believe in your choices, that you are committed to at least pretending to look like you know what you’re doing.
Sixty four teams came ready to boogie at The Big Dance this year and after the first round, there were 32 winners. I got lucky and chose 22 of those correctly. That's not great but it might not be too bad considering I probably watched less than two entire games the whole season. We’ll see what it looks like as we continue to move toward the Sweet 16, Final Four, and Championship…
Whether you predicted the upsets or played it safe by matching up all the top seeded teams, whether your bracket is still simply beautiful or just plain busted, I hope your basketball watching weekend inspires you to dream a few hoop dreams of your own and to make today… Something More.
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