By EZ21
March 17th 2016 is what my household refers to as the tri-fecta this year. The annual NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament kicks off at noon when two schools from Tobacco Road, on two totally different spectrums of talent, go head to head. The storied programs and history doesn’t necessarily matter in these games, because 90% of America is pulling for the little guy. This is arguably the best sports week of the year, as we watch buzzer beaters drilled from 30 feet, legends born, and heartache for the losers settles in. Nine months of hard work is gone in moments and the dreaded “Surrender Cobra” rears its ugly head for those shocked fans. Don’t know what a “Surrender Cobra” is? Google that phrase and include Michigan vs Michigan State.
How does it get better you ask? Throw in the fact that the Big Dance kicks off on St. Patrick’s Day. For those of us Irish sports fans, it gets better because you can enjoy these games with a refreshing green beer or Guinness that you only drink one day out of the year. It’s a legitimate excuse to ease towards your degenerate side for a few hours on a Thursday afternoon, while working perhaps from home through the myriad of excuses you made to work from home and watch basketball, albeit making a living from the man while being unproductive. One excuse I received today from a team member was that he needed to work remotely, because there was a FedEx package that requires a signature with no exact time of when it would arrive. Well played, Sir. Enjoy your day of unproductivity. I salute your passion for sports and lack of integrity.
The third part of the tri-fecta is likely a bit of a wrinkle and any father’s nightmare. You see today is my little girls 1st Birthday. Now, while it will be great to celebrate and its wonderful being Irish and having a child born on St. Patrick’s Day, I am terrified of what this means down the road. A girl, St. Patrick’s Day birthday, typically falls around Spring Break time…what could go wrong? Given that they don’t party too hard in the convent and she has already decided to give herself to the Church, this eases the pain a little bit. I will lean on those who have been there before and take the outlook of Bob Marley with his lyrics “Don’t worry, about a thing, ‘cause every little thing, gonna be alright”. I also pray she doesn’t really get into that type of music!
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