Spring Sports

Every year around this time, a rush of spring excitement arrives for me.  I'm a rather big fan of winter, so it's not necessarily the changes in weather.  Instead, it's the excitement surrounding spring sporting events.  My two favorite, in particular, are March Madness and The Masters Golf Tournament.  

March Madness holds my attention because the games are amazingly fresh and underdogs so often prevail.  One never knows around what bracket corner they may find a new upset, so perpetual tuning in is so worth it.  And it's that general spirit of hope that accompanies such play.  I also have what seems to be a genetic predisposition to romanticize any and all institutions of higher education for unknown and usually unfounded reasons.  The carefully landscaped campuses, studious faculty and students, libraries offering walls and walls of knowledge; they all take me to this magical place that I'm pretty sure is the exact destination colleges and universities want me to go so that I'll purchase their game gear (or perhaps attend there, as was the case of the unbelievably perfect appearance of Villanova and its surrounding royal suburbs).  So, I love the tournament because it calls to my attention institutions I may or may not already know of, and it motivates me to learn something about those places.

The Masters is super fun because, again, you never really know for sure who may win.  The final day of play is always super exciting, and most times, the smells of spring are in the air, which makes for a lovely backdrop to the beautifully groomed course at Augusta.  I can smell spring here in West Virginia and see a more accurately matched visual through the shots of electric greens and offering of florals and trees.  Also, I see myself more with the level of patience of Happy Gilmore rather than the true masters in the area of golf, so I really enjoy watching them demonstrate their skills.

So, during this year's season of spring sports, I will watch with zeal as usual.  I will mourn the close of the excitement and immediately look to baseball and football (always such a long wait) to fill the void left.