Although not a constant fan of college basketball, I’ve always loved participating in the NCAA March Madness Pool at my office. When I left the company last August, I knew that March Madness would be one thing that I’d miss. So I was psyched to return to the company at the beginning of March, just in time to fill out my tournament bracket.
“It’s destiny,” I trash-talked to co-workers. “Destiny has sent me back here so that I may crush all of you in the March Madness Pool. I can feel it.” I took my fanciful logic to the next level: Destiny wants me to avenge last year’s disastrous results by making the same picks. It’s why I’ve returned.
So I selected Kansas to win the championship for the second year in a row (I picked them last year after being inspired/freaked out by Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood). And even more amazing, I picked Kansas to win the championship by beating Memphis. And Kansas won last night in a sensational overtime game over Memphis, earning me tons of points in the office pool despite my tepid beginnings.
What a game! Kansas was down by 9 with 2 minutes to go, and I was thinking how much I hated the March Madness Office Pool for getting my hopes up and making me stay up until 11:30 to watch Memphis win. And then, all of a sudden… Memphis missed four foul shots, Kansas prevailed, and I prevailed too. I finished #2 out of 91 people in the office pool, earning me a gift certificate and, infinitely more important, bragging rights. Yee-haw! I’m back and I’m winning office games. Destiny.
