Kendall Hazel | Sports Blogger

March—my favorite time of the year. The weather is getting nicer (knock on wood). Beaver baseball is in full swing (shameless plug… IG: @bvubaseball and TW: @bvu_baseball). The anticipation for our Tucson trip is unrelenting. Spring training for the MLB is underway, and once again, my expectations for the Chicago Cubs are sky high (please don’t let me down this year, Joe Maddon). MARCH MADNESS IS FINALLY HERE ONCE AGAIN.

March Madness is something I have loved for as long as I can remember. Even at a young age within my nuclear family, we would chip in $5 each for a pool between the five of us. I would scrap together some cash by doing chores for my parents (cleaning out the cat’s litter box was usually the deed). My older brother Jordan always seemed to save his allowance money pretty well. As far as my baby sister Ashtin, I have borrowed money from her since she was like four years old, so she always had the means.

Picking the teams was always the best part. I’d constantly pester my dad asking for tips on different teams. Mom would just pester dad on what colors the team’s uniforms were. If a team had purple on their jerseys, they would be her champion (congrats to Stephen F. Austin University on likely being the only team chosen to win it all… by my mom).

Then come the games, and it is intoxicating. The constant games—the upsets—the frustration—the excitement—it is so much fun. Watching UNI and Ali Farokhmanesh dismantle Kansas’ dreams was awesome. Watching #15 Norfolk State dismantle #2 Missouri’s dreams (my champion of 2012) was not as awesome. The heartbreaks always seem to happen. The hopes of a perfect bracket always seem to shatter by the end of the round of 64. Despite the pain of loss, we always come back. We come back because there are teams like #11 George Mason (2006), #5 Butler (2010) and #11 VCU (2011) that make the tournament one of the greatest sporting events in the world. We fill out brackets each year with the hopes that our own favorite team will make some noise.

Oh… and my Iowa Hawkeyes are going to be in the tournament again for the third year in a row.

Oh, and the Iowa State Cyclones are in again for the fifth year in a row.

Oh, and thanks to Wes Washpun’s buzzer beating shot against Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, the Northern Iowa Panthers are in again for the second year in a row.

With that, the Hawks, Clones, and Cats will all be dancing for the second year in a row and the third time ever (last time in 2005). This is a great time for the state of Iowa (Nebraska fans can stop reading now). We have three teams from our state that truly (go ahead and laugh) could make it to the Final Four in Houston.

Here is my take on the matter:

Iowa: Senior-led. Peter Jok can catch fire. Jarrod Uthoff. Fans travel well. Jarrod Uthoff.

Iowa State: Georges Niang is hungry. Monte Morris is clutch. Don’t want a repeat of UAB.

UNI: No one wants to play them. Wes Washpun is an absolute baller. The entire team is dangerous from 3-point land. Iowa State and UNC remember…

I firmly believe these three teams can make some serious noise in the tournament. I live with four UNI Panthers at home so I’m always pulling for the Cats. As for Iowa State, I have been to Ames, and I have put up with my obnoxious (but passionate) Iowa State friends. Despite Iowa leading both the basketball series (43-26) and the football series (41-22), I have dealt with the unjustifiable harassment about being a “Suck-eye” fan. But hear this, I choose to look past the rivalry. I choose to be a proud Iowan. I choose to… cheer for… screw it… I am going to cheer for Iowa State and that oversized baby Georges Niang. I want to see all three teams do well, because I am sick of the Iowa stigma—a bunch of hicks that make ethanol. Iowans can friggin’ play basketball—not me, but others. Iowa’s starting five includes four Iowans. Northern Iowa only has three guys on the team that aren’t from Iowa. Iowa State isn’t exactly a homegrown team, but the Hilton Coliseum fills up with some of the craziest basketball fans in the country. Hilton Magic is real, unfortunately, and it is the second toughest place to play…right behind Allen Fieldhouse (shots fired).

I’m not going soft, and I am not going crazy. I am a Hawkeye through and through. But for March, I hope we can all come together as one state and be proud Iowans. So with that, go Hawks, go Clones, go Cats, but most importantly, go Beavers. Plus, I’d take Thomas Wisecup over Jarrod Uthoff based solely off looks. Damn, Tom. Keep it up.

Thanks for reading,

Ken Haze

Graphic by Nic Gibson