I Didn't Fill Out a Bracket - So What?

When I was younger I used to follow a ton of sports, leagues and events closely - NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, the NCAA Baseball Tournament, high school sports in Worcester, Massachusetts, the Olympics (summer and winter), world championships. I even tried to keep up with the NHL, even though hockey never quite clicked with me. But then I got older, got a job, and I could not keep up with everything. I found myself gravitating towards the Patriots and the Celtics. The former because the NFL is so easy to follow and the C's because I'm fascinated by the NBA.

Well all of the sudden it's 2009 and I didn't fill out a bracket. Not one. And the NCAA tournament has gotten to the point that seemingly everyone else did. Initially I was honest and admitted, "I just didn't get around to it." People were borderline offended. Other mocked me. I got into a few arguments about it. It's not that I didn't mind the jokes about my manhood or lack thereof. Rather I was annoyed by the assumption that I was somehow not a sports fan. It was as if my credentials were on the line. Really? Consider the following.

I watched every game of the 2006-2007 Celtics season. I bought a round for some people in Cambridge, England who didn't even follow the NBA when the KG trade was announced. Three days ago I dressed up as this guy. I'm probably going to help out with a JV baseball team a few days a week because I like throwing BP and hitting fly balls. There was a point where I was the self proclaimed best NBA Jam player in the world. I just knocked the ROOMOFZEN's T and his "Nobody Beats the Wiz" out of the fantasy basketball playoffs. Okay you got me. This was just an elaborate plan to drive home that last point. And I don't care if T stopped playing weeks ago and had injured guys in his lineup. Nor do I care that I'm going to get bounced this round. Nobody Beats The Wiz? Cobra Kai beat the Wiz. SWEEP THE LEG! PUT HIM IN A BODY BAG!