Addictions can be an interesting thing. I can’t tear myself away from these games. I’ve gone through 4 sets of batteries in the remote the last 4 days flipping around to catch every second possible. The team is plotting to have more TV’s in one area so we don’t have to flip around next year. Checks for your brackets only take place about as often as a second-hand on a clock does one rotation. Ops, showed my age there. Anyway about every 60 seconds for our younger readers.

I turn the TV up loud while I’m in the shower. Meals are planned around finishes and starts of certain games. Watching the scorecard at the top of the screen to make sure your not missing a closer game. Waiting for the next comical thing Sir Charles does or says. Feeling the tension increase as every second of the clock ticks off.

Teams never seem to be out of the game. Well most of them. And then there is the case of the GIANT Slayers. They are many, they are feeling that high, they are playing to the best of their abilities and winning. They step in the ring as lightweights and throw heavyweight punches.

The shots of the fans celebrating and crying through victory and defeat. The parents hugging or dancing in their children’s success or pain. The coaches with the emotion of really developing relationships and respecting their players individual dedication and effort as well as how they jell as a team to reach even higher.

Buzzer beaters and buzzer denied. Young men collapsing on the floor. And if you just saw a photo only you might not know if they had won or lost because the emotion can be so great either way. Cheerleaders, team colors throughout the stands, assistant coaches excited as head coaches on the sidelines.

Spending 12 hours straight with close friends after spending hundreds of $$ in Wegmans for supplies so we don’t have to move till its time we have to sleep. Well there is the grilling also and the local beverage store is always glad to see some of the crew park and enter that Thursday morning.

So many more games Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The tension grows and spreads quickly. The Sweet 16 is on the line. For if you make it through the weekend your team is in special company. The media will have days to scrutinize you and your dance partner and follow-up contestants. Celebrity status will be cast on many. People will speak of who wants to wear a slipper.

Crowds will go nuts. Technical fouls will fly. Boo’s of officials and endless conversations about calls will go on for months for some fans and teams. Replays are all over the internet and sport talk shows for days. Campus’s will take on new life and excitement. Talk of where to put the trophy will start

So now were down to 16. And Maryland is one of them. I see they are given little chance against Kansas. No problem, I will be watching every second with my heart in my throat, yelling at every call and hopefully jumping in joy at the upset and making plans for the next game on Saturday with the boys. I’ve watched this team for 5 decades now with great interest and support. It is the one common thread all of my friends have. We are all Terps fans. Some of us follow different baseball or football or pro basketball teams. But college its TERPS and TERPS only. And when we get on a roll its good times and celebrations like non other. Plus I’ll get a bonus this year, for I only did one pool this year and I’ve got the Terps to win it all.

It seems like it just gets better year after year. What a game, what a tournament.