My Two-Cents: This is March Madness
March Madness consistently ranks as a top-five holiday for me. It’s neck and neck with the Fourth of July, Halloween, New Year’s Eve, and St. Patrick’s Day. But what makes March Madness so great isn’t just the basketball — it’s the timing.
March Madness timestamps my favorite season of the year. Every year, winter drags on, much like Grey’s Anatomy season what-ever-the-hell they’re on now. (It’s time to close the yearbook ABC!) Then, as early March arrives, the sun starts setting past 6 PM. Suddenly I'm wondering if the depression was just seasonal! My serotonin levels start an uphill trek right as a top-five holiday hits — St. Patrick’s Day. And with that, drinking egregious amounts of green beer is suddenly fashionable (though who said it wasn’t beforehand).
As the Irish and non-Irish alike celebrate our heritage in the most festive of festivities, a new miasma begins to spread through the air — the first real hints of spring. They say April showers bring May flowers, but in my book, March flowers bring green beer, and green beer brings basketball. Then comes April showers, then some more May flowers and yada yada yada… (May/June is just a waiting period for the Fourth of July.)
I rambled on about what makes March Madness so great in a post last year (Not Just for March Madness), but here’s the gist:
March Madness reminds us that we are never too old for madness. You are never too cool, too mature, or too sexy to participate in silly, frivolous matters like making brackets and yelling too loudly at the TV. Moreover, you are never too cool for sports. Sports rock. They have since the dawn of time.
And as the daughter of a sportscaster, I’ve had my fair share of sports. As a kid, I thought they were just games — something to fill my weekends traveling to and from. But they’re so much bigger than that! They’re how I made some of my first friends. They dominate my family group chat. They’re what my dad and I talk about over the phone. They fund a multi-billion dollar gambling industry (which I like to think of as a contribution to economic growth). And in a world with dwindling “third places”, sports are one of the last great communal experiences.
For those unfamiliar, a third place is that sacred space outside of home (first place) and work (second place) where people gather, unwind, and connect. Think of coffee shops, dive bars, bowling alleys — places that once served as the heartbeat of social life but have slowly disappeared, swallowed up by the digital age and remote work. But as a majority of third places dwindle, sports refuse to go quietly. And thank God for that. Because sports are magical, and that magic is most palpable in March. And my March will be super duper fucking magical if Florida wins and my bracket doesn’t go to shit — because I need to win my family competition!
And in spirit of the season, here’s some of my favorite older ESPN commercials… ;)
