Hmmm... Interesting Bracket/Sports Thoughts

So, right after Syracuse lost tonight, ending their season, I realized something. No, it wasn't just that Scoop Jardine is overly-inconsistent, or that people love bashing on the Big East's shortcomings in the tournament, though they have just as many teams in the Sweet 16 as the Big Ten. No, it was that the people that seem to do the best in brackets are those that do not go to real NCAA Basketball schools. By that, I mean teams that do not consistently make the NCAA tournament, so everyone from the people that went to Division II or III schools, to those from BCS conference schools that just don't have good basketball programs, like South Florida, UVA, Northwestern or Oregon State.

I think I finally have found the reason for this- they don't actually care about the game. They pick based on their head, and not their heart. It is great if they are gambling. More power to them, because they usually win their office pools. But I doubt they truly appreciate March Madness the same way as someone from Duke, UConn, Michigan State, UCLA, Syracuse, Kansas or Kentucky. It is a weird feeling. For the most part, you will get your heart torn out with a crushing loss to a team you know you are better than. But, still, you made it to the dance. You had a 1 in 68 chance in winning it all.

I also had another thought. I have had a rough 12 months. And I think I have come to realize that sports are not the end-all be-all of happiness or sadness. Sure, it is a great diversion from your every day life. Lord knows that the Pinstripe Bowl victory for my Orange certainly helped make my New Years bittersweet instead of just awful. In the end, sports can make you amazingly happy, but you shouldn't let it make you miserable. I can't control that Scoop Jardine can't make an inbound pass. There is nothing I can do about Stephen Strasburg's elbow or the Capitals choking in the playoffs. My rants won't change how Dan Snyder spends his money. Is it fun? Sure. Does it help to get rid of some stress? Indeed. But it won't make a lick of difference to my life or the fate of these franchises in general.

Anyway, I hope your brackets are doing better than mine, if you happened to fill one out and put money on it. Mine is done, as always, because I blindly picked Syracuse like a good alum would. But if your bracket is doing poorly as well, then maybe you should take my tactic and not bet on it anymore. I now have that $20 to buy beer to help drown my real sorrows, but you lost $20 to your bosses 9-year old daughter because she really liked the nicknames "Spiders", "Wildcats" and "Aztecs". Hooray Sports!