I love March because it is total madness

With March Madness looming, I can’t help but get excited.

For a sports journalist, it doesn’t get any better than the NCAA tournament.

I love filling out countless brackets.

Over the years, I have mastered numerous ways to figure my picks in fantasy leagues.

I once filled out a bracket picking which teams I wanted to win, which one year destroyed my bracket when Gonzaga and Kansas were both bounced on day one.

I have even resorted to flipping a coin for each and every game. Which, sadly, was one of the best brackets I have ever filled out.

But the thing I love more than filling out my brackets to only throw it away and start all over, is the drama.

There is nothing like it.

Whether it is Kansas’ Mario Chalmers sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the national championship to overtime or watching Gonzaga make an unbelievable run to the Elite Eight in 1999 only to lose to eventual champion UConn.

I am still blame my mom for that one.

I watched the entire game. With four minutes left and Gonzaga leading, my mom made me go pick up my brother.

When I got home, the Zags had lost.

I was devastated, but I kept watching.

I love the drama.

I love watching the players give everything they have for the entire game, for their team.

I love watching the dedication the players display in the midst of heartache.

I love watching not knowing how it all will turn out.

I love watching my friend Dan get up and get in a defensive stance while watching the Kansas Jayhawks and I love watching him turn his phone off whenever they lose to avoid people laughing at him.

But March Madness is an opportunity to spend time with the people you care about. It is an opportunity for friends and family to come together because anyone can fill out a bracket.

I had a teacher in high school once fill out a bracket solely based on what mascot would win in a fight.

Needless to say, the Tulane Green Wave didn’t cut down the nets after the Final Four.

I love the NCAA tournament because the players are playing for each other, not a paycheck.

They are playing for pride, not an endorsement.

They are playing for the madness.

Derrick Pacheco is the Columbia Basin Herald sports editor. His love for sports is both admirable and a little frightening. The man loves the game … any game.