Bracketless

   It's that time of year again. The time when basketball fans all over the United States gather together to work on brackets in hope of winning money of bragging rights during the NCAA men's basketball playoffs. College teams talk about "going to the dance". Sports bars are filled with people watching to see if their favoured teams will make it to the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight the Final Four or that holy grail of basketballdom the Championship Game.
   Usually at this time of year I will print out a bracket and fill it in. Then I, along with many others, watch the games to see how my picks hold up. Most of the time, I wind up frustrated and irritated as my picks fall in the first round. Last year I found myself screaming at the TV and contemplating throwing something at it. This is not a good sign.
  This year I decided to reverse the trend. I was not going to fill out a bracket. When you get to the point that you are willing to vandalize your own TV out of frustration, it's time to take a break.
   It was easy at first. The printer to our computer wasn't working so I was unable to print a bracket once they were set. Wednesday afternoon C managed to repair the printer and we brinted a bracket.
   Then it wasn't so easy. Seeing that fresh bracket come out of the printer, those spaces just waiting to be filled in with picks. There was still time. I could still fill it in.
   Then I remembered years of broken brackets. Cinderella teams popping up out of nowhere. Sure things that were anything but. The memory of me screaming at the television preparing to launch some wooden trinket came into my head.
   NO! I am not going to give in. I am not going to go to the dark side. I am Not going to let myself in for another March Madness filled with frustration. No No and No.
  I laid the brackets aside to be filled in as the results of the games come in.
   The games started yesterday. I was eating lunch with my Dad and uncle in a sports bar. The TVs were blaring with the current game. I enjoyed my lunch, happy in the fact that I had nothing riding on the results of the game. I was able to enjoy a delicious hamburger with some of the best cheese I've ever had on it because I wasn't obsessing over who was winning. We ran some errands in the afternoon. We were able to do that because neither of us needed to be glued to a screen as if our picks would be helped by our virtual presence. (We did have the game on the car radio though.)
   We did not eat dinner in the living room so we wouldn't miss any of the action. We watched the Wofford-Seton Hall game. We wanted Wofford to win as that is C's school. We were able to enjoy the game because their loss would not ruin our bracket. It was fun. Even though the game wasn't over, I went to bed because I was tired. I didn't will myself to stay up late because I had to watch the end. I was content to check the score this morning. The Terriers won. Yay!
   So far it's been a much calmer start to March Madness. I'm looking forward to the rest of the tournament. I'll get to enjoy the cheers of the crowd and the  comments of the announcers. I will not be bothered by the sounds of breaking brackets.