March Madness

March Madness!

The favored team is three points ahead with 33 seconds to go. Make that five points ahead after two additional free throws. The TV camera pans to the audience where people are making their way to the exit. Granted it is only the second round of play but there are empty seats in the arena. The fans have paid a high price for 55 minutes of play. They do not turn around and look at the action as they make their way up the steps to the outside ramps. Getting to the car and a quick get-a-way trumps staying until the bitter end to lend support for the team that loses or celebrate with the one that wins.

Did March madness ever refer to Alice in Wonderland and the insanity of the March Hare?

Did March madness ever refer to the weather, as in like a lion, out like a lamb?

Apologies for the digression.

Four weeks of basketball for a football fan is an eternity. I fill in the brackets, as is required, but mostly I complete the form after the games are over. There's no money involved in getting it right. It just looks good on my kitchen counter, no cross-outs, no tears smudging the newsprint.

This weekend the mood changes with only 16 teams left. Four Ohio teams are still in and the big match-up is between Indiana and Kentucky. I predict that no one will be leaving this game early. Toilets will flush only at half-time and much money will be won and/or lost on the outcome...of the game.

I am a fair-weather basketball fan. I watch until "my" teams are sent packing. My husband watches the last three minutes of any game. Then it's back to real life which in itself can be pretty dramatic and change just as fast as two-point lead with one really flagrant foul.

And that's what I think about it.