March Is My Favorite Time Of The Year

There is just something about the month of March. Winter is almost over. Spring is around the corner. The days are longer. Summer is almost here. The Baseball season is about ready to start. And March Madness is in full swing. March is the perfect month.

The NCAA tournament is my favorite thing in sport. It's America's answer to the World Cup. Every office in America has bracket pools. Grown men revert back to their childhood and fake an illness to get out of work. There is just something in the air.

Locally though, there was disappointment and jubilation. California is back in the tournament after a two year absence. Cal made a risky decision last year to buyout Ben Braun's contract and hire Mike Montgomery. The risk paid off. In Monty's first year in Berkley, he has the Golden Bears dancing once again. They play a tough team in Maryland in the first round, but even if they loose it's great seeing them in the tournament again. Hell, even if they beat Maryland they will most likely face Memphis in the second round so Cal would most likely be in the tournament for the first weekend only. But with that jubilation, there is also disappointment.

Another local team, St. Mary's, barely missed out on the tournament. St. Mary's struggled once their star point guard went down with an injury and it eventually hampered their selection process. We can keep going on with why St. Mary's deserved to be in the tournament, but it is time to move on and look at the field.

The greatest thing about the tournament is there is something for everyone. Selecting 65 teams will offer a lot for a person's plate.

If you like defense, then Louisville and Memphis offer that for you. If you missed the '40 minutes of hell' Nolan Richardson made popular with Arkansas, you have that this year with Mike Anderson and Missouri.

Also you have to love the loveable 16 and 15 seeds. These teams are just happy to be here. They earned their spot in the tournament. And at least one of the 15 seeds will give a 2 seed a problem(remember Belmont only lost to Duke last year by one point). You always have at least one fun game between these two seeds.

And then there is the 12 seed versus 5 seed scenario's. One of the funniest things to do when filling out a bracket is to see what 12 seed has a great chance to upset an 5 seed. This year we have Arizona vs. Utah, Purdue vs. Northern Iowa, Florida St. vs. Wisconsin, and Illinois vs. Western Kentucky. You are guaranteed an upset with these match ups. Western Kentucky beat top seeded Louisville earlier this year. There will be an upset in this match up, I guarantee it.

Then you have the great stories coming in the tournament. Syracuse made one of the most inspired runs into the tournament. After the marathon against UConn in the Big East tournament, Syracuse became America's darling.

Also the tournament is a place for the little guy to trade blows with the big guy. It's like a small business owner going up against Wal-Mart. They will loose in the end of the battle, but they will capture the hearts and imagination of America. Gonzaga did it in 1999. George Mason made the inspired run to the final four in 2006. Stephen Curry and Davidson pulled us in last year.

Predicting the winner of the tournament is always the toughest thing to do. Louisville seems to be the choice this year. They were the best team in the best conference(The Big East). Then there is Memphis, who had their hearts ripped out of them last year in the National Championship game. And what about Tyler Hansbrough and North Carolina, is this their year?

These are just some of the great story lines that make this tournament the greatest. You never know what you are going to get. The big boys might clobber every little guy in the tournament. Or a little guy is going to make an inspired run. The NCAA tournament is like a big birthday party, you don't know what type of gifts you are going to get. That's why March is my favorite month of the year.