Bracketology

As much as I follow and gamble on (through my fantasy league that I post about annually) NBA basketball, I've never followed college sports. Never been that interested in watching kids play sports, be they high school or college age. Give me the professionals. But, March Madness, I must admit, due to its rather unique format, is always exciting.

This is the first year that I've ever filled out one of those infamous brackets, though. It is a rather low stakes bet amongst five friends because we will be in Vegas together for part of March Madness, so it would be fun to have something riding on the tournament. Several of these friends follow college basketball rather closely, so you would think that I would be at a disadvantage. But I'm not. In a tournament like March Madness, where anything can happen in any single game, it is virtually impossible to predict all that will happen. I recall some of the sports talk radio shows that I listen to on the way to and from work, and how the knowledgable hosts fill out their brackets and then also get their grandmother to fill one out and Granny ends up taking the prize. March Madness is a crapshoot.

So I filled mine out in about five minutes. I feel quite confident that I will be victorious. Now, I'm not a total idiot. I've got Kentucky winning the whole thing. That will make my father, who is a lifelong Kentucky basketball fanatic, extremely proud. He does not miss a game. My mother has been quite patient over the years. She tells stories of being out to eat with friends, and my Dad sneaking off to the restroom regularly to check the score of a relatively meaningless regular season game on his pocket radio (in the days before iphones). I remember a couple of years ago when he and I were driving a vehicle together from Tampa, Fl. to San Antonio, and it was during March Madness, we had to stop driving early in the evening and get to a hotel room in time for Kentucky's game to start on the TV. You have to admire that kind of dedication, especially from a guy who went to college at Baylor. Although, he was born and grew up in Kentucky.