March Madness, Part 1
I'm smack in the middle of my annual March Madness internal conflict nausea. This condition is brought on by me having to root against teams I like and root for teams I hate for the sake of my bracket. The cause of the condition at the moment is the Duke - VCU game. I hate Duke. Usually it's hard for me to take them out at an early stage of the tourney because they are a number one seed, but at a number six this year, I only had them going to the Sweet 16, which I still think is generous. This also means that for two games, I actually have to hope they win. Grimace.
This year was especially heartwrenching since they are playing VCU in the first round and I like VCU because they are an underdog team and a good friend of mine works for them. So I wanted to have them beating Duke, but I felt like the smarter bracket choice was to go with Duke. Plus, Bill Simmons picked Duke to lose and I didn't want to copy him.
Well, I've been watching and VCU has been drilling threes one after the other to keep up with the Blue Devils and trail by just two points, with less than five minutes to go. This has the makings of a great game and a great feel-good upset, but I really don't want Duke to lose because of two reasons: 1. my bracket, but mainly 2. it would mean that my gut instinct was right and I almost had it and once again went against it and I should have just gone with what I wanted to do in the first place, like I've been telling myself to do year after year after year of this bracket stuff.
Take two years ago, when UVM - a 16 seed - upset #2 seeded Syracuse in the first round. That realllly messed up my bracket, and I had almost gone with UVM after meeting a bunch of their fans at BU because I thought their fans were so insane that they would travel to Syracuse to cheer on their team and actually make the whole crowd factor - which should have gone to Syracuse since the game was being played like 15 minutes from them - a plus for Vermont. But I was like, "Vermont is in the America East tournament which is like Little League compared to the Big East, so forget it." And sure enough, I got beat. That was also the year my bracket imploded by the second round and I ended up dead-last in my pool.
Anyway, I've been doing okay today so far, but the truth is, that's not a huge deal because I played it pretty safe in my first round this year and most of the games have gone to the higher seeds. Right now, the exception for that is MSU vs Marquette, (no. 9 vs. no. 8) and I've got MSU, but I think a lot of people take Michigan in the tourney because they are a good tourney team, so that won't help me much. My point is that if Duke really loses, it won't be such a huge deal because I did okay today otherwise and it could have been much worse. That said, there are still a few games to go tonight, so I don't want to jinx myself. I always jinx myself, and I don't even believe in jinxes. (Just in case they exist though, just kidding.) Maybe since it won't kill my bracket entirely (I did have them going in the sweet 16), I can root for VCU and feel okay.
The score by the way is 71-70 Duke, with 2:37 to go.
VCU now has the chance to take the lead. I feel like it's at this moment I have to decide whether I should root for the upset. I feel like if I root for the upset, I'm a real person (They took the lead, 72-71) and if I root for Duke, I've sold my soul to the Blue Devil. I've officially given into the greed and pride of the March Madness bracketology, which, quite frankly, I was hoping to avoid. (Well, actually, who am I kidding??)
OK, so I took a two second break to clear my head and I realized something key that can solve my problem. No matter what happens, I can still hate Duke. I can hate Duke if they lose the game because they messed up my bracket (and thus be happy that VCU won) and I can hate Duke if they win because... well, they're Duke (and thus be happy because they won and my bracket is intact). The only thing I can't do is root for VCU to win. I can't root ... okay, so VCU just took a 74-72 lead. (Eww, a Duke guy is bleeding from his eye.)
Another problem by the way is that I like the VCU coach because he looks comfortable and nice and happy to be around and it's his first year. He looks like a guy who smiles and says hi when he walks by you in the hallway and opens doors for people.
Duke just tied it.
I don't know who to root for with less than a minute to play.
This is so exciting.
I want to puke.
VCU just took the lead again. 76-74.
34 seconds.
Duke has the ball. They're letting the clock run down. I think. Oh my god oh my god. VCU just fouled them with 21 seconds to go.
(How crazy is this? I hate Duke and until, like, tonight, I wasn't a VCU fan.)
OH MY GOD HE MISSED THE FREE THROW
OH MY GOD DUKE MISSED THE FREE THROW
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY
(I guess I really am rooting for... my bracket! I've sold my soul. For 10 lousy bucks. Cheap.)
Sixteen seconds to go, Duke fouls VCU. I have 9% of my laptop battery left, by the way, since I've been doing work/checking emails etc. and watching basketball since I got home from work.
VCU just got the first free throw.
I think I want them to win.
I dont' know though. OH MY GOD H EMISSED THE SECOND. OH MY GOD DUKE TIES IT UP.
ten seconds left vcu has teh ball. he shoots. IT GOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH MY FUCKING GOD. VCU 79, DUKE 77, 1.8 seconds to go. This Maynor dude is ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous. I am seriously dying.
The coach for VCU is freaking calm by the way.
I really don't like Coach K for Duke. This is old news. This is also a long time out.
VCU won.
I am happy for them.
I am mad at myself.
I hate Duke. Coach K looks like he's going to puke. That makes me slightly happy.
I really like that VCU coach.
The one freaking time I bet on Duke, this is what happens. I knew it. I freaking knew it.
This is why I like/hate March Madness.
I have to calm down.
This year was especially heartwrenching since they are playing VCU in the first round and I like VCU because they are an underdog team and a good friend of mine works for them. So I wanted to have them beating Duke, but I felt like the smarter bracket choice was to go with Duke. Plus, Bill Simmons picked Duke to lose and I didn't want to copy him.
Well, I've been watching and VCU has been drilling threes one after the other to keep up with the Blue Devils and trail by just two points, with less than five minutes to go. This has the makings of a great game and a great feel-good upset, but I really don't want Duke to lose because of two reasons: 1. my bracket, but mainly 2. it would mean that my gut instinct was right and I almost had it and once again went against it and I should have just gone with what I wanted to do in the first place, like I've been telling myself to do year after year after year of this bracket stuff.
Take two years ago, when UVM - a 16 seed - upset #2 seeded Syracuse in the first round. That realllly messed up my bracket, and I had almost gone with UVM after meeting a bunch of their fans at BU because I thought their fans were so insane that they would travel to Syracuse to cheer on their team and actually make the whole crowd factor - which should have gone to Syracuse since the game was being played like 15 minutes from them - a plus for Vermont. But I was like, "Vermont is in the America East tournament which is like Little League compared to the Big East, so forget it." And sure enough, I got beat. That was also the year my bracket imploded by the second round and I ended up dead-last in my pool.
Anyway, I've been doing okay today so far, but the truth is, that's not a huge deal because I played it pretty safe in my first round this year and most of the games have gone to the higher seeds. Right now, the exception for that is MSU vs Marquette, (no. 9 vs. no. 8) and I've got MSU, but I think a lot of people take Michigan in the tourney because they are a good tourney team, so that won't help me much. My point is that if Duke really loses, it won't be such a huge deal because I did okay today otherwise and it could have been much worse. That said, there are still a few games to go tonight, so I don't want to jinx myself. I always jinx myself, and I don't even believe in jinxes. (Just in case they exist though, just kidding.) Maybe since it won't kill my bracket entirely (I did have them going in the sweet 16), I can root for VCU and feel okay.
The score by the way is 71-70 Duke, with 2:37 to go.
VCU now has the chance to take the lead. I feel like it's at this moment I have to decide whether I should root for the upset. I feel like if I root for the upset, I'm a real person (They took the lead, 72-71) and if I root for Duke, I've sold my soul to the Blue Devil. I've officially given into the greed and pride of the March Madness bracketology, which, quite frankly, I was hoping to avoid. (Well, actually, who am I kidding??)
OK, so I took a two second break to clear my head and I realized something key that can solve my problem. No matter what happens, I can still hate Duke. I can hate Duke if they lose the game because they messed up my bracket (and thus be happy that VCU won) and I can hate Duke if they win because... well, they're Duke (and thus be happy because they won and my bracket is intact). The only thing I can't do is root for VCU to win. I can't root ... okay, so VCU just took a 74-72 lead. (Eww, a Duke guy is bleeding from his eye.)
Another problem by the way is that I like the VCU coach because he looks comfortable and nice and happy to be around and it's his first year. He looks like a guy who smiles and says hi when he walks by you in the hallway and opens doors for people.
Duke just tied it.
I don't know who to root for with less than a minute to play.
This is so exciting.
I want to puke.
VCU just took the lead again. 76-74.
34 seconds.
Duke has the ball. They're letting the clock run down. I think. Oh my god oh my god. VCU just fouled them with 21 seconds to go.
(How crazy is this? I hate Duke and until, like, tonight, I wasn't a VCU fan.)
OH MY GOD HE MISSED THE FREE THROW
OH MY GOD DUKE MISSED THE FREE THROW
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY
(I guess I really am rooting for... my bracket! I've sold my soul. For 10 lousy bucks. Cheap.)
Sixteen seconds to go, Duke fouls VCU. I have 9% of my laptop battery left, by the way, since I've been doing work/checking emails etc. and watching basketball since I got home from work.
VCU just got the first free throw.
I think I want them to win.
I dont' know though. OH MY GOD H EMISSED THE SECOND. OH MY GOD DUKE TIES IT UP.
ten seconds left vcu has teh ball. he shoots. IT GOES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OH MY FUCKING GOD. VCU 79, DUKE 77, 1.8 seconds to go. This Maynor dude is ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous. I am seriously dying.
The coach for VCU is freaking calm by the way.
I really don't like Coach K for Duke. This is old news. This is also a long time out.
VCU won.
I am happy for them.
I am mad at myself.
I hate Duke. Coach K looks like he's going to puke. That makes me slightly happy.
I really like that VCU coach.
The one freaking time I bet on Duke, this is what happens. I knew it. I freaking knew it.
This is why I like/hate March Madness.
I have to calm down.
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