Day 130

This is the best day of the year. My new years day. The day I look forward to the most. I absolutely love the NCAA Tournament. There is no better sporting event. None. These first two days on games starting at 11 and running through 11 is heaven for me. Working from home is the gem of all gems on days like today and tomorrow. I can remember watching the NCAA tournament pretty much all the way back to the Duke/Louisville national title game in 1986. Something about that game just drew me to the tournament. I remember the next year making a giant bracket with four pieces of 8 X 11 paper and writing in the winners and the scores after every game. I couldn't wait to watch the games on CBS. Back when I first started watching, the day time coverage was on ESPN only. We used to always leave for Florida for Spring Break on that Thursday, the first day of the tournament, and my brother and I would always stay up late to watch the games. There used to be an 11:30 pm EST nationally televised game on CBS, usually and 8/9 game.

Every year my love for the tournament grew. I kept up the tradition of filling out a giant bracket and bringing it with me everywhere. I still have them all somewhere. I stopped doing it a few years ago, especially with the advent of the internet. The tournament has since become a national phenomenon. Everyone fills out a bracket. I organize a pool every year. This year I had a record number of entries, 52. The winner will get $1040. Pretty nice for a $20 buy in. Its not just the pools that keep everyone interested, its the games themselves. Every single year there are a bevy of first round upsets, buzzer beaters, and great battles. Who can forget Vermont's win over Syracuse, Wisconsin-Milwaukee's magic run to the sweet 16, or the Bucknell upset of Kansas last year. That was just last year. These things happen every single year. The passion of the players and the fans of the college game is so exuberant. They should just shut down the NBA for the next 3 weeks. Nobody is paying attention. Nobody.

A few years ago, the NCAA tournament came to Cleveland for the first time. The city actually sold out all three sessions, which doesn't happen in all cities (See Detroit this year) and my dad was first in line for seats. He loved the tournament. I watched so many games with him over the years. Being a Cleveland State season ticket holder, he was able to get first crack at seats. He went to all six games, seeing a classic first round game where St. Bonaventure almost upset Kentucky and he just raved about the experience. When Matt was a sophomore at Syracuse, the first two rounds were at the Carrier Dome and dad and I drove up for them. It was just great. But the best time I ever had with my father in my life was our trip to the regionals in Anaheim three years ago. I spoke of at his funeral. Most people wouldn't want to spend three days with their father the way we did, but it was an experience that will stay with me forever. Three games, seeing KU beat both Duke and Arizona in incredible, drama filled games, eating greasy food and drinking with the man himself. This is just one of many reasons that the tournament is always special to me. The memories of my father.

So good luck to all who filled out a bracket. Watch a lot of hoops in the next 4 days and you will get why this is my favorite time of year. For the record, my final four includes Kansas, Connecticut, Texas, and Boston College.

Song of the Day: "One Shining Moment" by Teddy Pendergrass