March Madness

I've decided to do something different for the NCAA Tournament. Usually we pick the teams we like for some arbitrary reason, such as "I like Syracuse because the first basketball team I played on was called The Orangemen". So when the tournament comes around you half heartedly cheer for this team. To me, this isn't arbitrary enough. I wanted to throw all my support behind a team I have no business cheering for. So what I did is I entered all 64 teams into a random list generator I found on the internet, and said "whoever gets randomized to the top of the list will be my team this year, and I'll pretend like I've supported them my whole life, and I'll cry if they don't win, or at least put a bike pump through a wall like I did when Your Toronto Raptors got eliminated from the playoffs last year". So the team that raised to the top, and I raise my expectations for is:


Saint Mary's College Gaels (10)!!!!!!


Now I've loved this team all my life. I had my Dad paint SMC colours (red, blue, white) on my wall when I was young, and I still carry a pocket schedule for every year since 1987 in my breast pocket. When I graduated high school, I was accepted to SMC on a full scholarship, but turned it down. It had always been my dream to go to SMC, but I thought if I actually went I would die because I would have accomplished all my life goals. So I went somewhere else.

I feel really good about our squad this year. They're a bunch of characters and have most people calling them the Saint Mary's Yales, because of how smart they are on the court. I mean, what can you say about the point guard play of Patrick Mills? Or our big man in the middle Omar Samhan? You show me another centre that averages 10.6 points and 7.3 rebounds a game AND averages a 4.0 in academics. And there's no one more inspirational than the teams emotional leader Mickey McConnell. St. Mick (as his teammates and local press call him), may only average 1.0 points and .06 assists a game, but when the Yales need someone to jump of the bench and scream "YEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" after a big play, you can always count on St. Mick Mc.

So who are God's team playing? The gross and uninspiring Miami Hurricanes (7). This is one of the longest rivalries in sports, and I'm just hoping that things don't get ugly. We don't need team bruiser, Ian O'Leary, leaving the game because of flagrant fouls.

The big game is on the 21st (2 more days? who can sleep? I know!), so look for extensive coverage here on your Gaels.