For most people, the most wonderful time of the year would probably be the holiday season or summer break. But for me, it’s March Madness. Nothing makes me feel more alive or exhilarated than hearing the March Madness theme song on CBS. If I’m honest, I don’t pay much attention to college basketball aside from this tournament, but regardless, I always drop everything to watch the games (especially if it’s the Wisconsin Badgers). Although a good part of my investment in March Madness is due to my desperate desire to have an accurate bracket and win the pool, it also means a lot more to me and holds more traditions than it probably does for most people.
Since before I was born, my parents have gotten together with their college friends every March in honor of the first weekend of March Madness. It was a great way for them to not only have fun watching basketball, but catch up and relive on their college experiences. Even as they all began to have kids, the tradition continued and it began to mean a lot to all of us children, too. It was a weekend that I counted down to every year, and still do. Seriously, I would countdown on my whiteboard in my bedroom.
Typically, we would rent out a cabin in the Wisconsin Dells. We’d go to the waterparks, spend hours watching basketball and screaming at the TV, eat lots of good food (Dean’s French Onion Dip and Ruffles are a staple), stay up way past our bedtime and make a ton of memories with lots of laughter. All of us kids became very close even though we only saw each other once a year, picking up where we had left off every time. As special as it was for me, I know it is even more special for our parents to watch their kids grow up and appreciate the tradition just as much as they always have.
But now, all but one of the kids are in college or already graduated and living on their own. This has made the tradition of getting together much more difficult, and I will admit I was feeling quite sad watching the basketball games on my laptop in my dorm alone rather than with my family friends. As much as I love college, it’s times like these where I wish I could go back to being a kid and relive all these memories.
It’s funny how something as simple as a college basketball tournament can transform into something so meaningful. Not a single March will go by without me carefully choosing the winners of my bracket, while also looking back on all of the memories and appreciating how my parents’ college friendships have had such an impact on my life and made us all become a family. Not only do I hope that we can still carry on these traditions as, but it also excites me to see how my current college friendships will evolve throughout the years.