March 16, 2023

Ping!

March Madness is here, and with it, newfound humility. Every year, I think I’ve got it in the bag; this is my year. And every year, on the first day, I don’t got it. I picked the wrong upset, a number one seed lost, I thought I submitted a different bracket than I did. 

This year, I have a bracket with my family, my work, and my friends. Three chances! To… be humbled. At work today, my coworker and I were messaging back and forth starting promptly at 12:15pm. OOOhhhs and SOO close were constantly pinging, throughout the meetings we were both in, and despite us sitting directly across from each other. I would catch him chuckle and he would catch me wince. 

Ping! “Game’s on!” A message flashed across my screen. I smiled. Oliver (fake name) and I had bonded over sports before during the week, starting with tennis and continuing on with the world cup and the super bowl. 

“Let the madness begin!” I replied. Work and my friends are always fun because with them, unlike with my family, I actually feel competent in sports. The pings continued, and I had all four games on at once. 

“I think I had Furman,” Oliver messaged. I rolled my eyes. 

“You did not,” I typed back. 

“If they could only stop fouling,” then “oh snap!” and “duuuuude,” and finally, “F****CK,” “OHHH,” “SH**,” and “WHAAAAAAT!” 

What is he talking about? And then, two seconds later, I understood. He was ahead of me, and just totally spoiled the end of the UVA – Furman game. 

I can only imagine the reactions to the Arizona game.