Tuesday, 3/14

Think they'll take my diploma back once my alma mater realizes I don't care if they make it to some basketball playoff?

I know...bad alumni, right? I guess I just can't help myself. After all, it's only college basketball. And it's not like Michigan State hasn't been in the NCAA tournament every year this century, or whatever it is. Because they have.

I guess I'm just not a good Spartan.

You'd think I'd be happy they're back in the tournament once again; after all, not only did I graduate from the place, but their coach just happens to be one of the most famous people ever to come out of the U.P. But because it's basketball, a subject in which I have absolutely no interest, college or other-wise, I just kind of shrug my shoulders while the rest of the world goes crazy filling out their brackets and losing their mind when Elba squeaks past Waterloo in the greatest first round upset in the history of March Madness.

Whatever.

Don't get me wrong—I enjoyed my three years at Michigan State,. My time there helped make me into the person that I am today, and I wouldn't have traded it for the world. But unlike a lot of people, I don't consider myself a part of the Spartan “family”. I don't go back for homecoming, I don't belong to any kind of alumni association, and I'm really not interested in whether their sports teams are good, bad, or on probation. My life is where I am now and what I'm doing today, not what I was, who I was, or where I was back in the 1980s.

So sorry, Michigan State. It's not you, it's me.

However, that's not to say it's not a great place to grow and learn. It is. In fact, if you have a young person trying to decide where to go to college, tell them Michigan State is one of the best. In fact, I highly recommend going there. And if you do go there, and if you graduate, and if you wanna be a part of the Spartan “family” for many years afterward, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, and I'm sure they'd love to have you. In fact, based on the amount of mail I get asking me to donate to the school, I can guarantee they'd love to have you. So if you wanna do it, that's cool.

You just won't be seeing me at any March Madness parties. Now, I suppose I should go & find out where I buried my diploma, just in case they ask for it back.

8-)

(jim@wmqt.com), also wishing you a Happy Pi Day!