Lost in the Maddness

It's the most wonderful time of the year
Where there's vicious rebounding
The shots are astounding
And we all get to cheer!
It's the most, wonderful time, of the year!

March in Minnesota is a tough time. As I recently heard Garrison Keillor describe it, "March is God's way of showing people who don't drink what a hangover feels like." The streets are sloppy and obnoxious to drive on. Melting snow reveals the trash and debris that has been deposited into snow banks throughout the winter and must now be picked up. The sky teases with days of sunshine and warmth, then cruelly returns us to blizzards and freezing rain at the drop of the hat. In this land of gray bleakness and false springs, it's easy to feel as if all hope is lost, that the ring has been returned to Sauron, that the Death Star has destroyed the rebel base on Yavin IV, that Betamax has rendered all of your precious VHS tapes worthless. In short, everything is wrong in the world and there is little hope it will be made right.

It is no coincidence, in my opinion, that the powers that be picked this most hopeless time of year, as season of frayed nerves and tears, to host the most splendid celebration of western civilization, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Endless word's have been written about the splendors of the NCAA Tournament, all of them letters of love to the basketball gods thanking them for such a display. There's no doubt the unique structure of the Tournament, a one-and-done fest of the nation's best teams, attracts many admirers, myself among them. Thought I would take a quick moment to jot down some of the things I love most about the Tournament.

1. Everything changes as the tournament progresses. One of the best parts of March Madness is that the way you feel about a team is in constant flux based on what else is going on in the Tournament. You might love Texas against a smaller, quicker team like Marquette, but how will they hold up against the low-post power of Stanford? Georgetown might seem an obvious match up nightmare for a smaller, more one-dimensional team like Kansas State, but how will they fare against the tall, deep squad from Wisconsin? This constant state of flux fascinates and frustrates and makes it so every round, every game is a must see just because you have no idea what will happen.

2. It's a family affair. I realized yesterday that this is the first time in over a year that I have eaten two evening meals in row that were not cooked by me and did not involve fast food or a restaurant. I'm not kidding, this is why I love March Madness. Every March, my dad and I spend a solid 4 days screaming at the television while Mom whips up delicious, ingenious food hour after hour. It completely amazes me the kind of creativity she can show in a simple food like quesadillas or pizza. Dad gets more animated at sports than any other time of the year, and I just feed off his energy taking our enjoyment of the game to a new level with each passing night. Caboose gets involved with sports in a way he usually doesn't, coming down to shout at the television and whoop in celebration as Duke gets bounced from the Tournament. All of this blends into four solid days bonding with my family, whom I love and admire tremendously.

3. Bonding with coworkers. Personally, I love all the press about companies losing billions in productivity every year because of March Madness. I love it because it means employees would rather focus on bonding with each other in the celebration of competition than concentrate on the daily grind. It's an affirmation that, no matter how materialistic and shallow our culture might become, people still have enough sense to focus on an event that celebrates powerful human emotions at their most basic and raw: losing and winning, humiliation and celebration, failure and triumph.

4. Kids become heros. As many of the NCAA commercials hammer home, most of the kids that play in the Tournament will never play professionally. For most of them, this will be the biggest stage they will ever play on, and for the seniors, it will be the time they get to lace em up and hit the hardwoods. And for some lucky few, they will get to be their school's hero for a day, a shining example of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

5. Gus Johnson. Most of the year, we are tortured by horrendous sports announcing. Just think of the travesties unleashed upon us by John Madden, Al Michaels, and the other major announcers throughout the NFL season and the overall poor color commentating that goes on throughout the NBA season. Amidst this steady stream of mediocrity stands out Gus Johnson, the finest color commentator on television today, and a professional at his finest during March Madness. Watch this clip and tell me you don't get fired up.

So there you have it, my top five for the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully this marks the return of regular posts to Minnesotan on the Loose!