I always used to associate March Madness with a March Blizzard. The two always seemed to go together when we lived in Minnesota, and although the snowstorm was severe, we never worried about it too much, because Spring was around the corner, and we knew the snow wouldn’t last too long. But that was then, this is now. Snowstorms haven’t been an issue for us in the six years we’ve been living in Georgia. So I’m getting used to March Madness simply being about basketball.

“It’s almost time for March Madness,” my husband said a few weeks ago, reminding me that he’d soon be parked in front of the TV, watching basketball for the foreseeable future.

My husband is always up-to-date on all the players, teams, and stats. And although he never gambles on any games, he – like millions of others – dutifully fills out his bracket for the tournament. He based his on which teams the Sports Illustrated experts had picked.

After the first few games, he noted that several big-time upsets had already knocked out probably 95% of people’s brackets, including the experts. That’s when I decided to get in on the action, just for fun. I got a blank form from my husband, and filled in my choices.

I’m not a basketball fan, remember, so I have no knowledge, opinion, or inside information on any of the teams or players. All my picks were random, based on things like names I recognized and remembered from past tournaments, states I’ve lived in or enjoyed visiting, places where friends of mine have lived or gone to college. I picked a few teams because they were highly ranked, and others because they were underdogs. And although I didn’t expect my chosen teams to go all the way, I was curious as to how I’d do up against the people who knew what they were doing. In the back of my mind, I was thinking how funny it would be if I ended up picking more winning teams than the experts. Or at least my husband. It didn’t happen, but it gave me a little more interest in the games.

March is behind us now, but March Madness is still here, as there are a few games left in the Tournament. And March Madness weather is still an issue—and getting worse, actually. My sister in Minnesota texted me that they just got another seven inches of snow. My other sister is under a tornado watch.

For now, it looks like the Madness of March is going to continue for a while yet. And I guess I can live with that, not that I have any choice. My only hope now is that it will all be over by the time football season starts.

April 1, 2023
©Betty Liedtke, 2023

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