We are currently in one of my favourite stretches of the year.

Spring weather is here (other than the inevitable major snowfall still to come) and one of the best annual sports events has kicked off.

Growing up, I played basketball in school.

From grade six all the way to my final year of high school I enjoyed stepping on the court with my friends and teammates.

Once I reached senior high and my two years of basketball, I enjoyed that time even more.

Making the drives to different tournaments over those two years was always a blast.

It was also those times where we bonded off the court watching the NCAA Championship tournament, better known as March Madness.

The nine days full of games during March Madness highlight all that College basketball is.

The insane unpredictability has always drawn me to the tournament.

In March Madness, there are four different regions with teams seeded one through 16.

Every year, without fail, lower seeds defeat higher ones and make their Cinderella runs deep into the tournament.

Watching how excited all these players are reminds me of how excited I was for any tournament win over my days as a player in high school.

I was lucky to be part of a team that went to back-to-back provincial championships, winning one of them and losing the other by one point.

The biggest part of the madness is buzzer beaters.

Every year there are always a couple games that see teams tie it or win it at the buzzer.

While it wasn’t on the same scale as a national championship, I was on the losing end of a buzzer beater in my grade 12 year.

I sort of understand what the players who are part of these games feel at the end of an exhilarating win or crushing loss.

My love of March Madness runs so deep that it’s one of the few events that I’ll pay an online subscription for in order to get maximum coverage.

So far this year, I’ve seen every game played.

Now I’m not sure it’s entirely healthy that I sat in my recliner all weekend watching basketball but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy every second of it.

Watching 15,11,14,12 and 11 seed underdogs pull off massive upsets over teams they shouldn’t be beating always makes for great entertainment.

At the time I’m writing this, the tournament is about to take a break before this coming weekend sees the 16 remaining teams continue their fight for national glory.

You can bet your house on me watching every game again when they tip off Friday afternoon.