Forget about politics… it’s time for March Madness!

By Jay Warren
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: March 20, 2008

It’s time to take a break from politics, even though there’s a lot to talk about! It’s March Madness… giving all of us political junkies a much needed distraction.

I am not a basketball fan and do not follow scores, teams, players, or anything aside from the occasional comment I overhear from our sports department. But, I always look forward to March Madness and I always do two brackets. Last year I almost placed in the top three. Not bad for someone who knows little to nothing about the sport.

So, how do I pick my teams? I wish I could say it was based on some grand formula or reasoned analysis. But, alas, it is not. In fact, my process is scattered and as far from reasoned as possible! I do look at the rankings and consider the conferences (based mainly on what is listed on the bracket sheet!). I also consider a team’s location. For instance, since I was born in Texas I always favor my favorite Texas teams and go against my teams’ arch rivals. That means TCU, Texas Tech and Texas always go further in my bracket than they probably should and I will never go for Texas A&M, SMU (if they ever made it to the tournament), Baylor, and Oklahoma. I also generally give a nod to Virginia teams; although, I didn’t count on George Mason’s run last year! Finally, I probably favor teams that have a long history of success… teams like Indiana, Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Kentucky, Memphis, Louisville etc.

From there it is all random. And it generally shows. Last year was the best I’ve ever done, meaning I have NEVER won.

Still, March Madness is more about the collective experience, the excitement watching the games and the scores, keeping up with my brackets and watching how others are doing, and knowing that with March Madness comes spring. Maybe that’s why I really love March Madness. It means spring is upon us.

So, put down the political page of the newspaper. Turn away from the political blogs. Ignore your friends who just can’t stop sending e-mails griping about a certain candidate or complaining about the media’s coverage of the election. It’s time to focus on something different and I have to say I’m ready!

Oh, and by the way I have UNC winning one of my brackets and Memphis winning the other. If history is any guide, you should probably hope you have neither team winning!