Why March brings so much happiness to me
Okay, this isn’t another rant about baseball players I hate, I swear.
It is appropriate that spring starts in March. Spring gives us hope and a fresh start, and I always wondered why the new year happens in the dead of winter.
March Madness is just around the corner and it is the start of the baseball season, which puts a big smile on my face.
Maybe I am bias because I played baseball my whole life on various levels.
I love March Madness so much; I used to hate college basketball, I dont even know why. Maybe because I grew up in Chicago and was in Bulls-fan-ecstacy for most of the ’90s.
That is, until Michael Jordan hung up his sneakers and royally pissed me off at the age of 10, when he put on not only a baseball jersey, but the jersey of a team I have hated my whole life: the White Sox.
I eventually got really into college basketball by default in 1999. I stayed in a hotel with the members of the 1999 NCAA Champions, the UCONN Huskies; at the time they were in the tourney in Phoenix, Arizona.
I started watching then, and fell in love with college basketball. I think what’s so intriguing, and totally makes me sound like a hypocrite, is that in the NBA you can most likely pick the winner between the Lakers and Clippers.
In college basketball, any team can go down on a given night. Unlike The NBA, you have a lot more to lose. I love the win-or-go-home theme.
You either win or you lose, while in a series of seven or even five games, usually the best team wins.
The Gaucho mens’s basketball team has given the campus a taste of March Madness with some excitement of their own this playoff season as they enter the California Community College Athletic Association’s state tournament in Fresno. Already, they have faced two well-worthy opponents in these playoffs.
Cerritos and Chaffey colleges took the No.1 Gauchos to the final ticks. But good defense and timely shots are what champions are made of.
Another rite of spring is of course, spring training. I love baseball and I love watching spring training games on various channels and seeing the minor-leaguers play for a spot on the big club.
I think there is a certain familiarlarity between March Madness and spring training. Win or go home. I’m 100% positive the minor league ball players would rather be in the big leagues than going on endless bus rides in the middle of Bumble****, Iowa.
March is a time for renewed spirit. Thats just why we spring forward with excitement for what the summer may bring. It’s not hot yet so get out in the sun and watch the baseball players play on campus or even catch a softball game. Its very relaxing because like I say, you just never know what you may be seeing at this level.
It is also a great time to go on a road trip to every one’s favorite destination, Fresno, and see what march madness is all about.
Either way, go out and celebrate college athletics. It’s what spring is all about: celebration for a renewed spirit and a better tommorow.