IS TODAY THE BEST DAY OF THE YEAR?

This is the question. I will put forth the case that the start of the NCAA Tourney is the best day of the year. I will note that I am not considering religious holidays such as the birth of Christ or the Crucifixion . . . for Christians these are on two different levels of importance and therefore cannot be considered in the argument. For those cyclists who don’t get into all the March hoopla, you will think this is absolute blasphemy. But, for those cyclists who enjoy the madness, you may understand where I am coming from.

First let me state that I live, die and bleed cycling. I do however, enjoy playing and watching basketball. I'm not dissing biking, and I will admit that the best month of the year is July (TDF), but the best day of the year has to be today. Before I was a teenager, I would say that Christmas definitely took the cake. Then again, I remember my dad taking me to the Boys Basketball High School Regionals at Hedgecock. On the way in the car I filled out brackets 102, 103 and 104. On the way home I filled out brackets 105, 106 and 107.

But, now that I am an adult, what are the other options. . . Superbowl Sunday, MLB opening day, Daytona, Indy 500, Wimbledon finals, and for us cycling fanatics Paris-Roubaix or the TDF stage of Alpe d'huez, Ventoux and Champs-Elysees. All these days provide certain unique qualities; however, none offer the office camaraderie, the amount of research people put in to their brackets, the excitement of all the games happening at once!!!! People call in sick or take vacation at work so they can watch the madness (I may have been guilty of this). Upset after upset we stay glued to the television to see if our team can make it through the first weekend . . . . . and all this starts with the first day of games. Picture four disgusted guys that watch NCAAB 5 days of the week in preparation for the tourney only to get beat by the newbie making picks based on mascot names. . . TOTAL MADNESS!!!!!. . . ITS MARCH MADNESS!!!!!!!