Surviving March Madness

I’m a traveling man. I’ve made a lot of stops all over the world. These famous song lyrics from Ricky Nelson’s song perfectly describe my month of March. While I haven’t been all over the world, it certainly feels like it as I have spent a total of 10 days on the road covering college basketball.

March, in the sports world is known as March Madness. This is because a lower-seeded team has a chance to upset a college basketball Blue Blood, like North Carolina or Duke and bust everyone’s brackets. I think it also refers to the insane schedule sports writers have to keep to cover these tournaments. 16 to 18 hour days are not uncommon. Games start at noon and run until midnight and that doesn’t include the fact that you have to get to the arena early to do prep work and stay late for postgame interviews and finish and file your stories. I just got back from the NCAA Regional in Greenville, SC and most nights I did not get in the bed until 2 or 3 AM.

Experts say that people with Cerebral Palsy use 3 to 5 times the amount of energy to complete normal everyday tasks. If I didn’t believe it before going through the gauntlet of March Madness, I do now. I was offered the chance to go cover the next rounds of the tournament in Washington, DC, but I had to turn it down, because my

body needs a chance to recover. I always try to look on the bright side of life, but the limitations of having a disability are frustrating at times.

Even though navigating March Madness is tough, it is worth it because of the stories you get to tell. One such story is that of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. They are the only sports team in the country with the Chesapeake Bay Retriever as a mascot. His name is True Grit, representing the tenacity and loyalty of a Chessie. Even though they were not in the Greenville Regional, Gabe and I were cheering hard for them to advance while watching on TV.

One game I did cover was the Siena Saints versus the Duke Blue Devils. Siena’s mascot is not a religious figure, but instead a Saint Bernard named Baloo. He did not travel to the game, but if he had, I would have offered him an Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treat, or since it is a Saint Bernard, maybe a whole bag. I could spend pages and pages recounting all the experiences I had covering March Madness, like meeting Duke legend Grant Hill, but suffice it to say, I had a blast.

I was at home for a few days in between the tournaments and Gabe and I made the most of them. He got lots of treats and extra pets while we celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. There was plenty of Green to go around and Gabe certainly enjoyed the new Chocolate Mint Dragon Slayer Treats.

As excited as Gabe was/is about Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats, nothing could compare to the excitement he showed when I got back home. Gabe jumped in the car, gave my face and ears a thorough bath, shredded some napkins and ran in the house to curl up on my bed. When I laid down to rest, he got as close to me as possible and did not want to leave when it was time for him to go back outside. I guess he is afraid that I am going to go on another trip.

Though I truly enjoyed March Madness, there is nothing like coming home to the love of a Chessie. Whatever adventures April holds, we will be making up for lost time and we can’t wait to tell you all about them in the next chapter.