I want to freely admit something.  I am a men’s NCAA college basketball fanatic.  It’s one sport around which I’d truly schedule my life.  I know that sounds nuts.  But I’d say, besides watching the Packers beat the Bears, it’s my only true sports weakness.

This is the golden time of the year for sports.  In March you have the NCAA tournament – a Roman orgy of basketball on the first two weekends.  It’s pure joy to me.  Then, right after the tournament is over, you’ve got The Masters – the undisputed king of professional golf events.  It’s the first sign that spring is on it’s way.

NCAA men’s hoop is still a pure sport.  It’s about guys getting together, working hard, and playing a sport they love with passion and a burning desire to win.  Sure, many of them have aspirations of getting a big contract and playing in the NBA one day.  That’s great.  More power to the select few who can make it at that level.  But, for the most part, 99.97% of NCAA athletes go on to be a pro in some area besides sports.  And that’s great too.

Watching NCAA basketball games reminds me of the days of playing basketball for hours in the summer with my buddies.  Subtle arguments and competitive differences were always ultimately drowned by calling a three hour game of two on two with an hour long swim in my friend Brian’s pool.  Our games were brutal too.  We had a simple scoring system – first team to twelve, with one point baskets, you gotta win by two, and we always played make-it-take-it.  In make-it-take-it you retain the ball when you score.  The only way to get the ball back was to get a steal or a rebound and then score yourself.

The games were savage.  You’d be sweating and dying like it was the NCAA championship game knowing that you were in overtime, you were down 16-15, and had to score to keep from losing.  You didn’t win a trophy but you’d swear we were playing for one.  It was some of the greatest experiences in my life.