March Madness

In this particular instance, March Madness does not refer to how mad I am that it has been raining for 4 days straight, or how mad I am that Moxie rolled in the wet grass right after getting a bath, or how mad I am that I spent $235 at the grocery store today. I am talking about NCAA basketball, the legitimate March Madness in which college basketball teams play against each other in the hopes of moving closer and closer to the finals and being the eventual champion. I have no idea what they get if they are the champion. A trophy, I assume. Perhaps a title that declares to the world that they are the NCAA champions and will remain as such until next year when another team takes the title away from them.

You may have caught on that I am not all that knowledgeable about college basketball. But that doesn't matter, because the Army Man's big brother took a chance on me and has given me an opportunity I've never received before-a chance to pick the winners and possibly win the big bucks if I'm the one to correctly predict the most outcomes. That's right, he invited me (the one who doesn't even know what these teams are playing for!) to join his tournament and I'm honored to do so. Too bad I have to pay the $10 to enter-I guess being the Army Man's wife is of no benefit to me in this case.

So today I received my bracket to fill out and send back to him, and I have to admit-it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I certainly didn't want to only pick the top ranked teams. That would make me look lazy, not to mention elitist. You know there are going to be a few good underdogs in the group, and won't I look good if I pick them? There's also team loyalties to take into consideration. I'm sorry to report that I didn't give my alma mater the time of day and left them right where they started, #15 in the West. Sorry CSUN. I moved the Army Man's alma mater pretty far ahead, but in the end, I had to pick Wake Forest over them. Everyone knows that USC is a football college. Or at least, that's what I think.

In the end, I was a lot more loyal to my adopted state of North Carolina than I intended to be. I just can't deny how good our teams are. And my eventual champion was picked because that's where I really, really want Laura to go to school one day. I hope that when it comes time for her to apply, I can mail in a copy of my bracket from this year, and maybe from future years (if Jeremy will allow to play again!), and say, look, I always picked you guys to win. Surely that has to count for something, right? Right? Hello?

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Nobody better steal my picks, because I researched each team thoroughly, and I know I have predicted every game correctly.

And thanks to Jeremy, for planning and coordinating this entire tournament, and for being so nice as to allow us to play from across the country!