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Jared Bentley - Drive-In Philosophy Jared Bentley Jared likes to write about things that interest him. Not that those things are very interesting to anyone else, but you never know...

The Madness is Back

Published March 22, 2010 | By Jared Bentley | Drive-In Philosophy

I love March Madness. Adore it. I used to live for it. Completely... I mean, it was like a very unhealthy relationship with one overly needy participant.

For the past few years, though, I have been married, and the great games of spring have begun to hold less meaning, or have at least taken up much less time at my house. I haven't really made time for basketball, I have watched it when it was on and I had time, but there was no carving out time to make it happen.

I look back at the days that I used to follow the tournament with such fervor and I wonder if those days were better - wasting countless hours and afternoons with the early games, inventing excuses to miss social outings in order to stay in and watch the games with other like-minded friends, or staying past closing at the local bar to catch the end of a Thursday night nail-biter.

While those were great times in their own right, I wonder if maybe I could have chosen more wisely and spent my time doing something more rewarding. Maybe the Madness has crept out of my life - maybe I need to spend more of my time enjoying family and friends, and not worrying about what happens in College Basketball.

That could be the ticket. That's the grown-up thing to do.

I didn't watch any early games yesterday, and I didn't even make it home until halftime of the ETSU-UK game to see my beloved Cats blow out our very own hometown heroes (What a horrible situation for a UK fan living in the Tri-Cities...), and I wasn't exactly rushing to get home for that. No joy in seeing either team lose.

But I did make it home by eight or so, and the games were on. And then I started watching. Watching good, exciting, March basketball. That's when it all came flowing back.

Montana put forth a good effort, Tennessee was lucky to survive, and the Georgetown game was amazing - I mean, who in the world picked Ohio, outside of Ohio alums? Great basketball all night long, one of the best first-day runs I have seen.

Around 1 a.m., Wake Forest was driving a final nail in the up-and-down season of the Texas Longhorns, a team I have never cared for. I had not moved far from the couch in hours. I was happy about basketball, just like the old days.

It seems like the Madness may be creeping back in.

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Kingsport Christmas Tree Lighting
Kingsport Christmas Tree Lighting
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