I love this time of year. The weather is getting warmer, which means that the lovely ladies of Sacramento State are putting away their sweaters until November in exchange for tube tops, flip-flops and those very nice short shorts.Ah yes. The changing of the seasons — you’ve got to love it.

I also love this time of year because of the two words that have become synonymous with college basketball and office pools all over the country — March Madness.

March Madness today has to be like the Major League Baseball playoffs used to be before they turned into a prime-time spectacle.

Sick leave hours all over the country will peak for the next two Thursdays and Fridays, while at the same time high school and college students will convince themselves that they are too sick to hear a lecture about … uh … you know, whatever students study.

So where do all these sick people go? Not to the pharmacy to pick up cold medicine. These sick folks head to sports bars, or the frat house or that one party house on Notre Dame.

And for those who don’t call in sick? Walkmans, hand-held four-inch televisions and headphones take their lunch’s place in the brown paper bag. As for lunch, it’s the only allowable time they’ll be able to view the Madness.

Next to the Super Bowl, there is nothing bigger in sports today than the NCAA men’s basketball national championship tournament and there are similarities between the two.

First, unless you have a rooting interest, fans are just hoping for good basketball and buzzer beaters. Throw in a twist that is comparable to watching NASCAR and waiting for a crash to happen, fans watch and wait to see who will be this year’s Cinderella and how long can they hold on to the glass slipper.

Second, fans from all over the country trek to the Final Four, much like people from all over the nation head to the Super Bowl. They go there for the game, but they also go there for all the festivities and nuances that come with a Final Four.

There is also something about opening the sports section the Monday after all the conference tournaments have completed and seeing the tournament brackets. The brackets that will be copied and distributed among co-workers, completed and turned in to their gambling authority with the office pool fee by the end-of-business Wednesday.

As for the actual games, the NCAA tournament is the stage where college kids become heroes and where little schools can make big upsets versus the giants of college basketball.

Just last year we had two of the most dominant individual performances in recent memory as Marquette University’s Dwyane Wade led the Golden Eagles all the way to the Final Four, while freshman Carmelo Anthony led the Syracuse Orangemen to the National Title.

Just two weeks after the tournament began, Wade and Anthony became household names all over the country. Both these studs now play in the NBA.

Upsets are always great. The UCLA Bruins won the National Title in 1996 and were a very strong team coming back to defend their title in 1997. But they forgot to tell the Princeton Tigers that as the Ivy-league geniuses beat the defending national champions.

And I can’t forget our Big Sky brethren, Weber State, when they upset the North Carolina Tar Heels a few years back.

The last-second shot is also a staple of March Madness. Who will ever forget the finish of the 1983 national title game between Houston and North Carolina State? A three that went array turned into a great pass and a lay up with no time left as the Wolfpack stormed the court and the late head coach of the ‘Pack, Jimmy Valvano, hugged and kissed anyone he could get his hands on. UCLA’s Tyus Edney single-handedly brought the Bruins back from elimination in their 1996 title run as he went coast-to-coast in less than five seconds to beat the stunned Missouri Tigers. Christian Laettner’s last second shot versus Kentucky was also so very clutch.

But the thing that stands out the most about March Madness for me is the realness. It’s pure emotion; it’s brutally honest; it shows the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Tears are shed, whether they are of joy or disappointment. Who will be the champs? Who will be the next Cinderella? No matter what, it’s going to be a fun few weeks so sit back, relax and start working on that fake cough.

Contact Danny Pinto at [email protected]