March Madness

I remember when I was celebrating my 16th birthday, all the guys wanted to sit around and watch March Madness games instead of hang out with me. Needless to say, I threw a fit but it didn't work. Learned then that I could never get between guys and their sports. Because of this, I took an interest in sports, followed basketball, baseball, even golf for a while. I didn't understand football until this past season but now that I know what's going on, I can honestly say that I do enjoy watching it.

Anyways, back to March Madness. I did not appreciate all that March Madness stood for until senior year of high school. I had just committed to attending UNC-Chapel Hill and the basketball team was on fire. Everyone was pumped so naturally, I followed the games, the ACC tournament (we lost), the NCAA tournament, right up until UNC defeated Illinois and all the news coverage showed Franklin Street and the mass crowd that gathered, the bonfires that started, the arrests that ensued. That was when it hit me, I was going to one of the greatest basketball schools in the nation, and that year, THE best basketball school in the nation. There was many ups and downs through my college years for the basketball team, more ups than downs though. We beat the Dookies in their house ALL four years, which was awesome. There was injuries which sucked. I ran from the Dean Dome to Franklin Street, jumped over fires, the works. It was amazing. I couldn't imagine going to a school where we weren't amazing at a sport. It instills such a sense of school pride that is irreplaceable.

Of course the one memory that will live on and on forever is the moment we KNEW we were going to be the NCAA champs my senior year. What better graduation present than a National Championship. It's beyond words being able to say I was there when we won in 2009. I still get all nostalgic thinking about it. President Obama even has us as winners! Go Heels, go America!

This year, the madness ensues and it's even better because NC State is also in the Sweet16. Kunal and I basically plan our social plans around the games. It sucks being in the North because people here just don't understand all that March Madness is. No one understands what Dook losing to Lehigh means, or the significance of NC State making it to the Sweet 16, or the fact that one of UNC's best players has a broken wrist! Thankfully we have each other to obsess over games with. Otherwise March would be maddening for other reasons.

Go tarheels, go wolfpack. Yes, I am now from a house divided.