Nothing like having time to pursue ones interest. And my interest this month is College Basketball, my favorite sport. Yeah the money and TV and the one and done’s have changed the game dramatically. The number of guys who play their whole college career is a rarity these days. But it’s still the most exciting and even and real sport, set up in a playoff format that just breads tension and drama.
The cold of winter is about to be scorched by March Madness.
Photo by Mike Hartley
So as I looked up at my frozen net the other day I knew the warm temps were only a short time away. As well as the conference tourneys and then Selection Sunday and let the Madness begin. And so this week with the temps hitting the 60’s and 70’s in the northeast, I’ll look for my basketball and hope the air pressure is good because I can’t remember where I put the needle for the air pump last.
Every dribble I take, I feel young again. Well not when I try to do some of the moves I might have had in the day, but you know what I mean. I love basketball but the pro game while exciting and performed at a higher skill level than college, doesn’t have the emotion. That is youth. That is young guys the same age focused on a goal while going to school and hopefully not being highly paid yet.
They haven’t had to endure the grind of a 82 game regular season. They haven’t had 6-7 weeks of playoffs. They are in a zone they will never experience again. It’s a chance for small schools with the same age kids to upset the powers and elite of the sport. And a decent chance at that. For its one and done time.
Just like the street, you lose, you sit. But unlike the street you don’t get the second chance till next year, if you lucky. All I know is I love watching the game. And this spring and summer I’m going to try to rediscover the love of playing the game. I think it will do both my physical self good but also mentally it might be the biggest gift.
And now with the last regular season game only about 8 hours away, the troops gathering for the victory and sendoff to the conference and then the Big Dance, I hope it’s a great March again on the tube. Oh yeah, the finals are actually in April. What the hell. Maybe next year I’ll do some traveling and catch a Big Dance game live.
But in the mean time — GO TERPS —
