Years
ago…many years ago…I married a sports fan.
For years I
didn’t really “get” it. What was so interesting about all of this?!
The
basketball games looked alike to me, and they sounded the same. Squeak, squeak,
(shoes on gym floor), crowd cheers, bands playing. Football was the same.
Players running into each other and falling down in a pile, one of them holding
a little oval ball up high and jumping up and down!
Football teams, basketball teams, baseball
teams…What was with all this attention to games about?
They held
one thing in common: all these games involved balls…Basketballs, Footballs,
Golf balls, Racquetballs, and Baseballs
All the
games were based on balls of some sort....And these “balls” were the glue that
connected the brain cells of the homo sapien male to other males of the same
ilk!
I still
don’t really “get” it. But, I am now at least aware of the importance of balls.
I first
became aware of balls when I realized that I couldn’t “hit” one. In grade
school when the “Freds” of the world were organizing sand lot baseball games or
bouncing balls on cement surfaces, I had other interests.
Had I
learned how to hit a ball, ANY ball, at a young age, I would have been a better
golfer, baseball batter, and ping pong player. I couldn’t even play tennis
because I spent so much time running after the dang ball.
Admittedly,
I came into this marriage deficient in the “ball” arena!
But, lately
I have become a fan of watching balls!
I think
some of it may be senility, but also, there’s nothing much else worth watching
on television anyway.
If you
can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
This
weekend, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament begins.
We just ended the football season with the Super Bowl, and now, we culminate
our season of basketball with this tournament!
Oh joy
untold.
I have
become a Kansas fan. I love KU basketball, and I support K State and Wichita as
well. Also, its interesting to know the players and the coaches, and to follow
their careers.
So, several years ago, Fred encouraged me to
fill out a “bracket”.
A “bracket”
is the listing of the 68 teams and their pairings in the next 4 weekends of
play-offs. The bracket lists who plays who and gives their ranking (how many
games they have won and lost as compared with the other teams in their league)
and their win-loss record.
The trick
is to guess who will win each game, fill out the bracket, and select who will
win the tournament.
Do I know
squat about who could win each playoff? Are you kidding?
No, I just
guess. I eventually fill out the bracket, and turn in my sheet full of erasures
and scratches. My bracket is entered in a contest with others. I usually come
up in the bottom 25% but never have been the last one at the bottom!
That is a
source of pride to me!
Fred
related that one gal who enters this contest does very well because she selects
teams that live closest to her mother. Another female in the group picks
according to how big the school is. Fred says that color of uniforms might also
be a good way to select.
But, of
course, the guys don’t select winners this way. They have “knowledge”.
Here’s why
I do this bracket thing.
When the
tournament starts, I pay attention to who is playing and who is ahead. I look
at my bracket, and of course, I want to win…I want to have guessed right.
During the tournament, I may not watch games totally, but I watch the ones in
which I have a special interest. I get pretty involved when I can see that my
“pick” for any particular game is winning or catching up.
I get
nervous too. That’s the price one pays for getting involved in watching these
games. The disappointments, the last minute shots that win a game, the crazy
calls of referees, the tears, the incredible athleticism are all points of
interest.
And guess
what amazes me the most? ….The ability to handle the BALL!
Happy March
Madness Month!
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