Basketball Widow

The Madness May Be Over, but the Season Never Ends

April 3, 2006 7:09 AM | 0 Comments

March Madness is Just the Beginning for the Sports Widow
It's time to break out the champagne or at the minimum some box wine with a good nozzle. The sporting event that has turned my husband and 8-year-old son into the equivalent of a painting, entitled "Still Life: Man and Boy With Snacks and Beverages in Front of Tube," has concluded. Yes, tonight, the Florida Gators clamped their jaws on the UCLA Bruins, wrestling them to the finish and thereby mercifully ending the 2006 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Basketball Tournament.

The final score? I couldn't tell you, but I can say that ever since I met my charming husband Bryan 18 years ago, this day has become the equivalent of a national holiday... for me. Finally, it's over. Gone are the brackets, the hypervigilant regard for the TV schedule, Sweet 16, the Final Four, the sublimation of outside activities in the general category known as "Life," and the not-so-subtle reminders to me that I nearly signed a pre-nuptial agreement protecting Bryan's inalienable right to observe every aspect of this tournament.

On one hand, I am happy as a spouse and Mom that my husband, and now son, have something they can feel so passionate about. On the other hand, I am hard-pressed to find the equivalent in my life. I mean, I love movies, and I've been a member of a Movie Club for 15 years, but I never freaked out, screamed or obsessed about a movie or a movie star or The Academy Awards for that matter.

This morning, I started the day at work with, here's a surprise, a meeting. As I walked into the conference room, reveling in the fact that the NCAA Basketball Tournament would conclude this evening, I underwent a dramatic attitude shift. My sun disappeared under a cloud. The person leading the meeting was decked out in a baseball jersey, proudly telling us that the jersey was a replica of a famous ball player from the days of yore.

Yes, it's all a conspiracy. Today was Opening Day for baseball. And, so it goes. The season never ends. The sun never sets on the Sports Fan's empire.

What sporting event gets your fan most excited? Do you have an equivalent passion in your life? I'd like to know.