Jeff Hajny

    March Madness, baby!!!
     It's strange how something as insignificant as a basketball tournament can get me so excited.
     There was a time where I would spend the whole year waiting for the NCAA Tournament to start so I could cheer my heroes on to victory and boo the teams I despised.
     Every time my teams would win, it would be a great day and I was just sure that this was their year to take it all.
     Every time the teams I couldn't stand would win, it would be the worst thing ever.
     Every time my teams would lose, I would spend the rest of the day walking around like my puppy had been run over. It felt like the world had become a darker place and there was a cloud over me.
     I don't know how many remotes I broke watching NCAA Tourney games.
     I don't know how many obscenities I uttered while watching games.
     It's weird, because now I wonder what it was about the NCAA Tournament that made me so nuts.
     I think it was because at the time, I loved basketball. It's all I thought about and it's all I wanted to do. When I wasn't playing basketball, I was watching it.
     I loved the NBA, but I liked the NBA more for its individual players than for teams.
     Kevin Garnett was my idol when I was young. Everything that KG did, I had to do. He wore a wristband around his left elbow, so I had to. He wore rubber bands around his wrists, so I had to. He had certain songs he listened to before games, so those were the songs I listened to before games. Every season, I would be sporting a pair of whatever shoes he would wear during the season.
     As much as I loved Mr. Garnett, I can't say I cared much for the Minnesota Timberwolves. These days, I'm not much of a Celtics fan either, just a big fan of KG.
     That's why I've always liked college basketball. College basketball games are more about teams than individuals.
     It's weird because about a year ago at this time, I couldn't stand basketball.
     I had just finished my senior season in college and was so burnt out that looking at a basketball made me sick to my stomach.
     It's been a year. I still don't wanna play it anymore, but I'm starting to enjoy watching the game again.
     I'm looking forward to the tournament this season. This college basketball season has been one of the most exciting seasons I've seen in a long time.
     This season has seen the number-one seed change more times than I can count. It seems like as soon as a team becomes number-one, they lose and the spot becomes a source of contention again.
     My teams are the Jayhawks and Tar Heels. I fell in love with the Jayhawks when I was living in Kansas and fell in love with the Tar Heels when I realized I hated Duke and everything they stand for. With the way things are going this year, the 'Hawks and 'Heels have just as good of a chance as anybody to take it all.
     I'm really looking forward to the start of the NCAA Tournament this year. There has never been a year when the tourney wasn't a hoot, but I think this year's going to especially be a blast.
     I find Dick Vitale to be the most annoying person in the world, but I totally agree with him when he says, "It's March Madness, it's the best time of the year, babyyyyyy!"