February – Good riddance

As a huge sports fan, I am once again so very thankful that the God-forsaken month of February is finally over. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the Man upstairs dropped temperatures below expletive freezing and blanketed us in our misery with three feet of snow.No. I’m ecstatic because February is the worst month for sports, by far. The only refuge in this dark dreary month is the slightly abridged four-week format. Good lookin’ out to whoever came up with that.

Someone reading this is probably saying to himself something in reference to the fact that the Super Bowl was at the beginning of the month. Quite true. I must respond to that inquisitively. How much do you think the guy on death row enjoys his last meal? Ever had a one-night stand? Sure it’s pretty sweet at the time, but then it’s over. And what are you left with? Nothing!

As Super Bowl XLI ended, quite anti-climatically as someone pretty clever predicted, the life of the average sports fan took a terrible nosedive similar to the plunge experienced by Ryan Leaf.

Just for arguments sake, and to appease my southern readership, let’s consider NASCAR a sport. And believe me, I’m being 100 percent hypothetical. If I ever decide to really be condescending I’ll share with you my views on NASCAR and its status as a “sport.”

Anyway, with the exception of the Great American Left Turn down in Daytona, February lacks any significant sporting event outside of the Super Bowl. Essentially, we’re just waiting for the salvation from the sports doldrums that the month of March will bring.

I mean really, who in their right mind wants to watch a bunch of rednecks and Jeff Gordon drive in a circle for five hours? Woops. Sorry. I shouldn’t have started.

March brings hope and Madness. The Major League Baseball season is just around the corner and the NCAA captivates America from now until early April. If there’s anything in the world of sports nearly as exciting as the NCAA Tournament, it can be found in the conference tournaments that precede the Big Dance.

In the Conference tournaments, hope springs eternal. It’s a chance to possibly become the next George Mason. Granted GMU did not win their conference tournament last year, but in other conference tourneys across the nation Cinderella continually slipped on her dancing shoes.

Here in Vermont, we all have fond memories of the three consecutive appearances of the UVM squad in the NCAA Tournament. Under coach Tom Brennan, and led by Taylor Coppenrath, the Cats led our entire state down a magical path a couple of years ago with a remarkable upset of perennial powerhouse Syracuse in the first round of the Big Dance. That’s the kind of stuff that makes March so beautiful.

So, good riddance to February and a special congratulations to Kevin Harvick. By passing a 48-year-old, who formerly had Viagra logos smeared across his car, you single-handedly made life worth living in the month of February. Now if you really want to impress me, turn right NASCAR. Please!

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