March Madness

I am a kid in a candy store right now. A dog at feeding time. An astronaut with a fresh diaper. Yes, it's like Christmas Eve at la casa de Rutledge right now as the NCAA tournament is upon us.

Every year I take off the Thursday and Friday to watch the first round of NCAA tournament games. And every year I become glued to the TV when an underdog takes a favorite down to the wire, pulling hard for the upset without regard to what the upset will do to my tournament brackets. I have been fortunate enough to experience the first round games in person in Nashville and Raleigh in the past few years, and there is nothing like it when fans in the arena from all the other schools unite to start pulling for the underdog to pull out a win. There is nothing like the NCAA tournament, and the time is finally here.

Amy and I have our brackets filled out and have placed our annual friendly wager on who can pick the most correct games. If recent tradition continues, I will happily be donning a chef's cap and firing up the grill to make Amy the dinner of her choice. But that's part of the fun.

Finally as my buddy Dave O (also a Kentucky fan in NC) accurately pointed out, the schedule couldn't be better for an NCAA tournament fan who also pulls for Kentucky. As the Cats are the last game of the first round late Friday night, we get to enjoy two full days of basketball without the disappointment setting in when your favorite team has its season end with a loss. Hopefully Tubby can right the ship and finally get this team -- which has been so close to the brink of success this year -- over the hump. No better time to do it than in March.

So enjoy the tourney. I know we will be enjoying it for the next four days. Cheers!