Friday, August 19, 2011

What is More Than March?

I realize that the web address "More Than March" is a head-scratcher if you don't know what it means. I wish I could tell you that once I explain where I got it from, it will all make sense. But I'm hesitant to do that because I know that once I lay the meaning out there, my sanity will no longer be a question. Because you will know that when it comes to college basketball, I have none.

Eh. Such is life.

On March 15th of this year I wrote these words;
Some folks may think that March Madness doesn't begin until conference tournaments or even Selection Sunday.

These folks, would be wrong.

This is a process that begins never stops. It is continuous. College basketball may end for some in early April, but for many, the lack of analysts and brackets doesn't mean the end has arrived.

I am one of those people that start counting the weeks until "midnight madness". I read too many articles and know too many numbers that in the end will get me nowhere in the real world. But I do it. I cannot explain it, but like ESPN says, "it's not crazy, it's sports".

However, I do recognize that one has to possess a certain level of insanity to love sports. But with that said, I go back to the subject at hand; March Madness. As I said before, I love and hate this time of year. Part of the reason I hate I blame purely on the level of insanity I possess. I love college basketball all the time. Not just throughout the month of March and it irrationally bugs me that once brackets come out, "fans" and "experts" just start popping out...please realize that, yes, I do know it's irrational. 
This has always been the case. It's comically sad to me to hear people doing brackets based off of mascots, team colors or whatever irrelevant reason makes sense to them and them alone. There is more to college basketball then what takes place between mid-March and the beginning of April. College basketball is an ongoing process. Maybe not for fans, but for coaches and players, they keep going long after Dick Vitale and the cameras are gone. This is a sport that gets my blood pumping and my heart racing just talking about it to another living being.

Who am I kidding? That's happening right now typing these very words as I listen to the slow defeat of the Carolina Panthers. Summer months are painful unless you love baseball. But football is here which means we're one step closer to the start of college basketball.

So if you had questioned the meaning behind the name, now you know...

It's so much more than March.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

An Introduction of Sorts

I'm not sure when it started. There was no clear cut date or event or moment that provides that answer. It's an obsession that has never wavered or faded. It is something has caused me to take ESPN's mantra of "it's not crazy, it's sports" as my own.

Basketball, more specifically college basketball and even more specifically, the basketball that take place at the University of North Carolina, is a way of life for me. Seasons come and go; the names on the back of the jerseys change, but the obsession remains the same. I have often been told that I borderline on the unhealthy side of my love for the Tar Heels, but I figure if you're going to love, there is no need to do it halfway. I'll be honest and tell you that I have shed tears over losses, victories and I do not see those irrational displays of emotion fading anytime soon.

The reason I started this blog was to provide a medium or outlet for, at times, my insane passion for this college team. My personal blog, A Carolina Love, has served that purpose more than once, but it seems that the time has come for it to have its own place in the blogging world. We’re approximately 86 days from tipping off for the 2011-2012 basketball season and as fast as life goes by, I have a feeling the next 2,064 hours are going to crawl.

When the five starters announced their return, the North Carolina Tar Heels became an instant favorite for the 2012 National Championship. Now, I for one do not like to count my chickens before they’re hatched, so I’m not weighing in on that unearned prediction. The talent is there and there is no doubt about that, but things happen. Back up guard, Leslie McDonald, can confirm that after tearing his ACL during a summer Pro-Am game. Life happens; injuries sideline you; family matters bring you home. And it’s for those handful of reasons alone I’m not banking on these pre-season predictions alone to determine the outcome of this upcoming season. Now, while trying to be realistic, I am fully aware of the immense amount of potential that resides within this current roster. And it is up to the guys that put on those jerseys night in and night out to make those predictions a reality.

Winning and losing both result from team effort and whether or not it's there. I believe that the loss to Kentucky in the Elite 8 was not the way this team wanted to end it's season. It was a season of ups and downs, twists and turns that not even the most experienced sports analysts could have predicted. Yet, somehow, through all of that, this youthful, inexperienced squad was one of the last eight in the 2011 NCAA tournament.  When conference play first began, this team had lost half as many games as they played. But by March 5th, 14 games were in the victory column for the 2010-2011 Tar Heels.

I realize that football season has officially started and I'm happy for that. But in my heart of hearts, I'm still ticking off the days until I can say that college basketball has officially started.

And though the next 2,000 hours may go by slowly, they are going by surely and tip-off will be here before you know it.

Come back, visit and stay tuned, because it's only going to get better from this point forward.