March Madness-ing

Oh how I love March! March is the beginning of Spring, the return of much anticipated warm weather, the end of cold, gray days and the promise that Summer is right around the corner. Or...it's supposed to be.

Unfortunately March in New York is not so Springy and it does not bring glorious warmth. It is sadly just another month of cold winter. March is peppered with teasing 60 degree Saturdays cruelly followed by 30 degree weeks and snow storms. While my friends and family down south are wearing short sleeves and open-toed shoes, I'm still donning my familiar winter coats, boots, scarves and sweaters. March is such a tease.

Thankfully March also promises something other than Springtime - the college NCAA Basketball Tournament! Being a sports-loving gal, a diehard Longhorn and a general fan of a lil healthy competition, March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year for sports. (second to college football season of course, but not by much!)

Sidenote: bball was pretty much life from 3rd grade through Junior year of High School. I played year-round - in school, on select leagues, summer and fall, my Dad was our coach. I have very clear memories of not being able to go inside until I had made 10 free throws in a row in our driveway, 'Free throws win ball games!' Needless to say, I hardly ever missed a free throw, guess Dad does know best...perhaps this is where my natural affinity towards bball stems from?

I love college basketball. Mostly because of my loyalty to the Longhorns, but also because the NCAA tourny is the best! Obviously cheering for my boys is top priority and makes the playoffs all the more exciting. Sadly this year, I knew the Horns weren't likely to beat Duke, but it didn't stop me from cheering at the top of my lungs down to the very last second of their round 2 loss!

So every year after Selection Sunday I consult Dad for thoughts on the teams I don't know as much about and his predictions for upsets. I tell him what I think and he tells me 'ok...but that's a bold move.' He also provides insider tips -

5:30pm St. Paddy's Day phone call from Dad:
Dad: Hey Baby Girl, what are you doing?
LJ: Leaving St. Paddy's happy hour, what's up?
Dad: Hah, happy hour, huh? Well I just wanted you to know that Illinois' star player is hurt. Without him, they probably won't beat Western Kentucky.
LJ: Oh yeah?
Dad: Yep, so you might want to change that pick on your bracket before tomorrow...I'm betting W. Kentucky will beat 'em.
LJ: Haha, will do! Thanks Dad! This could be the secret to my bracket success!

Good tip, +10 points in round 1! This year Dad set up our pool on ESPN.com. He invited all my uncles, my brother, a few friends, Leslee's boyfriend and me. That's right, Keith was invited to join the family bracket pool and Les wasn't, HAH!

So armed with Dad's insight and as much info as I can read through on ESPN.com, I make my bracket predictions. I. love. brackets. And competition. And spending all afternoon in a sports bar with my friends cheering for our teams and hoping our brackets stay in tact. I love the intensity, the down-to-final-second games, the overtime wins and the upsets.

Due to my skilled predictions (ok, ok minus the Midwest bracket in general and today's Louisville let-down), I'm currently leading in our pool. I'm kinda pumped about it. I'm also leading in both my Facebook pools with some friends from Tejas and the New York Texas Exes. Regardless of the outcome, the Tourny most definitely makes for several fun weekends of crazy competition and nonstop March Madness-ing. How can you not love it?!

Here's a lil peak at my current 1000-point bracket. Bring on the Final Four! :)