Great Escape: March Madness

“Shoot! SCORE!!”

I cannot count the number of times those words have been uttered from my 21-month-old son over the past week—words which are usually accompanied by him heaving his basketball toward his Little Tikes basketball hoop. Apparently we have been watching a lot of college hoops lately.

I consider myself a sports fan. I get quickly engrossed in almost any athletic competition if I stumble upon it on TV. I’ve always been a big fan of the more mainstream sports, looking forward to the start of baseball season and football season every year. 

And when March rolls around, I get really excited for the NCAA Tournament. I think I’m such a big fan of March Madness because it provides competition about the competition. I dutifully fill out my bracket each year, even if I have little knowledge of “bracketology” and no particular team to cheer for.

The past few years, however, have been different. My alma mater, while usually decent at basketball, has been especially good lately. The team has made the tournament two years in a row, this year winning a conference title.

So now I have a horse in the race, a reason to pay attention to college basketball prior to March. I think I have watched more college basketball this season than in the entire first decade of the 21st century. My husband teases me when I refer to the players by their nicknames.

Of course, this probably means that my bracket will be filled out with more heart than head, but that’s OK. I’m excited to cheer for my team.

While it’s nice to be able to watch the game from the comfort of my couch, it’s much more exciting to go out to a bar to cheer and groan and yell at the referees along with a crowd of fellow fans.

In the Alexandria area, most likely any bar or restaurant will have their televisions turned to the basketball games. But there are a few spots that have lots of televisions and more of a sports bar atmosphere. Here are a few places where you can plop yourself in front of a television for a good 4 to 12 hours:

Bugsy’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar — Bugsy’s might be the largest sports bar in the area, and probably offers the best chance of getting a table or seat at the bar.

— One of the newest additions to The Avenue, this place has nine big screen televisions for watching the games.

Ramparts Tavern and Grill – Recently renovated, Ramparts boasts 16 high definition televisions for your viewing pleasure.

One thing to keep in mind is that Thursday is not only the first round of the tournament (not including play-in games), it’s also St. Patrick’s Day. The bars are very likely to be packed. So either get there early, plan on fighting the crowds, or wait until Friday to hit the sports bar.

But no matter who you cheer for, enjoy March Madness!