Oh, how I love this time of year…
We have Jayhawks and Cardinals and Catamounts and Ducks. (With all due respect…) What exactly is a “catamount”? (… a medium-sized wildcat, like a cougar, I’m told…)
Besides the birds listed above, we have heroic Cowboys and Spartans and all sorts of Trojans (and more Trojans… yes, we have two).
Yikes… I omitted a few avian competitors; we have soaring Seahawks, Bluejays, and Eagles, plus two sets of Gamecocks and Gaels. True, a Gael is not a bird; it’s a Gaelic-speaking person (… but thanks, Iona; it sounded good there…).
Let us not, however, discriminate against any, especially the by far, formidable animals in the tourney; we have multiple mammalian entries…
There are Wolverines and a Wolf Pack… Wildcats, too. Granted, most are familiar with our feline friends from Villanova, Kentucky and even Kansas State. But God bless Northwestern; welcome to the tournament. It really is the cat’s meow.
Forget we not, no less, the Bruins, Bisons, Bears, and smaller bears, i.e. the Bearcats. There are Bulldogs, also, hailing from both Butler and Gonzaga (that private university in Spokane, enrolling approximately 8,000 students, in case you were unaware).
Truth told, I’d probably be a little more apprehensive about facing Jackrabbits instead of Terrapins, although I’m not quite sure how to feel about Hokies, Aggies, and Norse.
There are Commodores and Cavaliers…
Pirates and Privateers…
Mustangs and Musketeers…
And a tall order in the Mountaineers.
There are Fighting Hawks and Fighting Irish…
Flyers and Friars…
Blue Devils and Blue Raiders…
And Seminoles representing our respected Native Americans.
Also included are the talented sets of Tarheels and Tigers, Razorbacks and Rams, Badgers and Buccaneers.
And last but not least we have Golden Eagles, Golden Gophers, and even Golden Flashes. Since “golden” makes everything sound better, we also have hopefully golden Gators.
My apologies to the Demon Deacons. Again, with all due respect to my friends this time in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, I simply pay minimal attention to evil.
Wait… I did leave out my beloved Boilermakers. “All hail Purdue,” the song goes… (… so I’ve only sang it, maybe 37,142 times…).
All that to say I love this time of year. I love all the teams and people gathered, as we simultaneously celebrate the potential of the underdog and the talent of the top seeds. We appreciate each for who they are, enjoying them, recognizing that shining moments happen far more than once, for far more than one. There is so much in so many to enjoy.
Oh, how freeing.
Did I mention I love this time of year?
Respectfully…
AR
(P.S. Go Boilers go…)