It’s that time of year again. You know what I’m talking about. Brackets, Cinderella teams, underdogs, madness. Well actually, March Madness to be specific. A staple in my life this time of the year, I am always very excited when March Madness rolls around the corner each and every year. There are so many reasons to get hyped about it. The hope of 68 teams wrapped in the promise of one more game. It’s a whole new season for every team and none of the previous 30+ games matter. Nothing is for granted and everything is earned. The tournament knows no entitlement and no one cares if you are headed to the NBA next year—everyone is equal in the arena.

It’s the unpredictable nature that is so much fun to watch. We go into the tournament with the big featured storylines in mind, when in reality, the teams are in the process of writing their own headlines with no regard for your brackets and picks. Like I said before, it truly is a new season from the moment these athletes step onto the hardwood. The teams’ seeding, all the games from November through February, the stature of your personnel—all of it goes out the window the moment the ball is tipped up.

The beauty of the NCAA Tournament is the rise of schools you never would have heard of otherwise. It’s so awesome to see the smaller schools upset the larger schools with the marquee names and rich history. Who would have heard of UMBC if it wasn’t for their historic upset against Virginia? Even now, could you tell me what it stands for? I wouldn’t fault you if you didn’t know, but you should probably go and Google it right now (And major props for being the Retrievers, that is a truly awesome mascot). I can tell you one thing—admissions to that school are going to skyrocket now. You may never hear of schools like this one again, but you will never be able to take away that specific moment of victory for them. These schools have beaten the odds and for many of the kids on these teams, this is their well-deserved moment and something they will never forget. Watching the players wear their emotions on their sleeve after a hard-fought victory is something that as a common fan of the sport is very gratifying to take in.

March Madness exemplifies the reason why I love sports. You can never predict what is going to happen. There is no algorithm for understanding it. It just happens. And so many crazy things are bound to happen. It’s a statistician’s nightmare. Stats and numbers can only quantify certain results. They cannot gauge how much a team wants to win. They cannot gauge leadership, pride, friendship, or selflessness. Sometimes honestly, all you can do is tip your hat to a team and start filling out that Second Chance bracket.

One thing that I love about the college game in comparison to professional leagues is the impact and weight of the school behind the team. You have the coach, who means so much to the players. In college, the coach does so much more leading of the team, both on and off the court. They also direct the game flow and plays more so then the pros and you really can’t underestimate the value of a great coach (I’m thinking of you Coach K and Geno Auriemma). And you have the fans that support their team without question. Any team can beat any other team given the right circumstances behind a great coach and a rowdy, awesome section of loyal patrons. Those student-athletes are playing for the pride of their school and things like what Loyola-Chicago is doing right now is incredible. And how can you not love the story of Sister Jean, the team's biggest fan? (If you want to know more about her story, check it out here

At the beginning, I said I really look forward to March Madness every year. The culmination of the hopes and dreams of all of these teams as they enter the tournament, as well as the grind they have gone through all season long always lines up with the start of spring. March Madness kicks spring off for me. The calendar may say January 1 starts a New Year, but really, the warming of the temperatures, the thawing of snow and ice, the blooming of the flowers, and March Madness truly signifies the start of a new year for me (coming from a true Yankee).

I hope you feel the joy that this time of the year brings me, even if it's not in watching college basketball! It's spring! For me though, coming down to the end of another school year—this is the perfect way to enjoy it! March Madness is a sporting event unlike any other. I really do have so much more I could say about March Madness or the joy this time of the year brings me, but if you’ll excuse me, I have some more basketball to watch.