March Madness rocks!

When I was a student at Golden Meadow Middle School, I was the ringleader behind an illegal operation. This rule-breaking scandal took place every March.

I assume that I now have everyone’s full attention.

I was a shy kid back in those days – I didn’t yet possess the wit and smart Alec tendencies that I now own today.

I loved sports, of course, and I actually consumed more of them then than I do now. I was a diehard of everything – football, basketball, baseball – you name it, I watched it.

OK, now back to the scandal.

See, I don’t mean to brag, but I was a model student. I made straight-A’s and honestly didn’t need to put forth much effort to do so.

So knowing that I didn’t need to be in class every, single second of every day, and knowing that I wanted desperately to watch March Madness, I was the spearhead behind a complex hooky system that rocked GMJH’s attendance numbers every March.

It all started on the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament. I’d attend school, go to class for the first few periods, then develop this massive stomachache at around 10:15 a.m.

Keep in mind that the first games tip off at 11.

After being excused from class, I’d call my mother, who knew I wasn’t really sick, but would come pick me up from school anyway – my reward for being a 4.0 student.

This same stomach bug must have been contagious, because it also attacked several of my closest friends, who’d also call home sick. You know, it’s strange, because as fate would have it, they would all magically end up appearing at my family’s house to watch the games.

It was magic. It was two days out of the year where we got to cheat the system and leave school early to watch sports.

It’s exactly why the NCAA Tournament is the best time of the year to be a sports fan.

Now that I’ve gotten older, I realize that my complex system to pause productivity wasn’t unique to me. It happens all around the world.

March Madness is a time when the country’s productivity pretty much gets put on pause, because the vast majority of sports fans are using their work hours to watch games.

For some, it’s done sneakily and behind their bosses’ backs. For me, I’m blessed to be in an office building where there’s a lot of trust, and where we’re allowed to have some freedom as long as the final product gets done.

This year’s NCAA Tournament has been a thriller – a 68-team single elimination field that has truly put every letter of M-A-D-N-E-S-S into the phrase March Madness.

On Thursday, the big story was No. 12 seed Yale, which beat No. 5 Baylor and busted a lot of brackets around the country.

In a pickup gym, every, single one of Baylor’s contributors would be picked before anyone from Yale. But those Yale kids played tough, were smart and trusted in their system.

The reason why basketball is the most beautiful game in the world is exactly that – you don’t necessarily need to be the biggest, fastest or strongest to win.

It’s about teamwork, sharing and putting the team over oneself. Yale did exactly that, and they became the Cinderella darlings of the country because of it.

Then on Friday, chaos broke loose at about 11 p.m.

At that time, we saw two of the craziest finishes of the season – each revolving around last-second shots.

In one game, we saw a potential game-tying slam dunk get waived off, because it went through the basket a split-second too late.

The irony of the situation is that if the young man opts for a layup instead, he’d have gotten off the shot and sent the game to overtime.

Speaking of overtime, about 90 seconds before the dunk controversy, Cinderella Northern Iowa beat Texas at the buzzer. Not on a layup or a mid-range shot. They won on a shot from half court at the buzzer.

Which brings me to a bigger-picture question.

What is it about the month of March that makes buzzer beaters so prevalent? Seriously, for the first four months of the season, these late-game shots fall off the back of the iron, then drop to floor without drama.

But in March, it feels like every, single game ends with something crazy happening.

Away from the half court shot, we also saw buzzer beaters and/or late-game finishes in the Providence/USC game and also the Iowa/Temple game, as well.

Is this like the community carnival where the rims are rigged for more shots to go in? Of course, I’m kidding, but it surely feels like there’s a greater power at play here.

But whatever it is, it’s a power that I embrace.

March Madness is the absolute best – an event that is unrivaled in the world of sports.

Why can’t every month be March?

Why can’t every sport have a postseason that’s as memorable and exciting as we have in college basketball?

I feel a stomach ache coming on, ya’ll.

It’s time I bow out of this column so that I can get my hoops fix. •