march madness

i'm tied for 8th in the bracket pool. pretty good considering i don't know what the hell i am doing. my general modus operandi is to pick about 85% or so straight down the top seeds, and then go with my gut on a few upsets. the whole thing is a total crap shoot, so what's the point of studying it? might as well throw darts at the thing.

with basketball in general (not bracketology per se), i lean towards the knowledgeable side. i know the basic concepts - dribbling, passing, shooting. i know where the 3-point line is. i know what "in the paint" is, and what "bonus" and "double bonus" mean. i can recognize goal tending and double dribble, and i know a block from a charge, but in the heat of the game i am likely to miss fouls that are off the ball.

i've never played the game, other than shooting HORSE in the driveway. at my high school, the girls were still playing 6 v 6 half-court, which means i actually missed my best chance to play because i am certain i could have played defense. it's the fine ball handling skills that i lack.

people think i am athletic -- i mean, i have actually had people describe me that way to my face. i'd say that i am "fit" but not "athletic". i really enjoy moving around outside - on land or sea: run, swim, hike, row, dance, cycle, skip, et cetera and so on and so forth. i am happy to throw a frisbee or play a game of HORSE, but i'm not naturally good at it. the only reason i am a passable soccer player is the years i have put into it.

one of my soccer friends asked me to help out with her church league softball one time, because they were short on girls and "you are athletic". i was like, haha, i am not, but sure, i'll come help. it was a disaster. if it had been anything but church league, they would have sent me back to the car. they put me at catcher because in church league that is pretty much the least skilled position, and damn if i could not even throw it back to the pitcher. interestingly, she never asked me again.

we didn't play a lot of sports when i was a kid. i did outdoor stuff at summercamp, but participating in organized sports was not a big part of what my family did. now - WATCHING organized sports, that WAS something we did quite a bit of. i remember when we were young adults, my older brother complained about trying to watch sports with his girlfriend. "other girls don't ask smart questions like ace does," he told our dad. sort of an awkward compliment, but i'll take it.

so, anyway, here i sit at 8th place in the bracket pool. not that i expect to end in this lofty position, but - like an awkward compliment from your brother, a temporary stay in 8th place in the crap shoot that is march madness feels pretty good.