March Madness... literally

Only during this month can I go from being ridiculously happy to ridiculously stressed and back in such a short span of time. I feel like I’ve been in a permanent nauseous and anxiety-ridden state since the brackets started, in part due to NCAA bball, but also because of the stressful will-we-make-it-into-the-playoffs? drama of the NHL. Bi-polar Fan Disorder? Playoff Panic Attacks? I could write my own addition to the DSM-V if it's not too late... Any fans who make it through the first week of April without suffering a heart attack should get some sort of perks or recognition next season. I’m just saying…

As far as the brackets are concerned, my left side was perfect till ‘Cuse decided they were done dancing. Totally had more faith in Scoop Jardine than I should have, but I can’t help it. I have a thing for fun names. The right side, on the other hand, was rough from early on, though I was pretty proud of picking Richmond for the upset. I’m currently tied for 1831^st place in the BS Report bracket out of 23695 brackets. Not too bad, especially considering I’m 100 points ahead of the legend himself, Mr. Bill Simmons. Small victories.

There have been so many crazy endings, close games, and great stories throughout this tournament so far, but there’s just too much for one girl to blog accurately at the moment, especially when her team is among those still battling for a chance at the title. After our short lived run last year, the Gator boys are looking (kinda) hot right now. We had a 79-51 blowout over UC-Santa Barbara in the first round, which was exactly as it should have been. Somehow, we always seem to get matched up with UCLA and took them down yet again in the second round 73-65. (And yes, I realize my 1^st and 2^nd round claims are technically off, but I’m sorry, four play in-esque games do not constitute a round, in my opinion.) We needed OT to get past Jimmer and his crew, but Tyus made some amazing plays to get our momentum back up and keep us moving forward with an 83-74 win over BYU. I’m semi-watching Badgers v Bulldogs as I type, though the stress of our game earlier has completely drained me, and I admit, my scouting for Saturday’s game will likely be ineffective due to this fact. This is why Billy D is there, too, since he’ll actually be courtside when we play the winner and, you know, calling plays.

The one downfall to all this stressful fun that is March is that sometimes my teams/sports have conflicting game times. Having tickets for the remainder of the Canes’ home games, I’ll be partially in hockey mode when my Gators make their Elite 8 appearance. Thankfully, the sports gods gave my boys an earlier game time on Saturday, so I’ll be able to watch most of the game from the sports bar near the arena, then tracking the end of the game on my phone & tvs on the concourse. Not how I’d like to watch either game since both are crucial, but at least the continued stress means my boys are still in contention… here’s to being anxious through the championship game and NHL post-season!