Welcome to the three-day work week, also known as the opening of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
A total of 32 games will be played Thursday and Friday. Shots will beat buzzers and bust brackets. Commentators will grow short of breath calling fantastic finishes.
March Madness thrills because it crosses genders and generations.
Every week, I call my sister, who lives a state away. But this week she will call me, asking her brother how to fill out the bracket. Even my son, the anti-jock, comes alive when he hears “Onions,” the catch-phrase of Bill Raftery, one of the tournament’s best color men.
Back in my sportswriting days, I covered six of NCAA tournaments, venturing to places such as Atlanta, Indianapolis, College Park, Md., and New York. I witnessed the University of Michigan’s Fab Five squeak past a pesky Oklahoma State team in Rupp Arena in 1992.
But that was a job.
The joy one experiences as a fan is exponentially better.
Especially if your team wins.
Here We Go 