As
a child, remember the feeling of anxiously walking down the stairs on Christmas
morning?  Your expectations exceeded when
you lay your eyes on a mound of neatly wrapped gifts under a perfectly lit
tree.  That unbridled excitement and pure
happiness that can only come during the holidays.  A group of gentleman has been taking part in
an NCAA Basketball party for the past four years.  A gathering in March that brings up the childhood
feelings of Christmas; that’s right, it’s Marchmas!

Marchmas
is a two-night three-day event where March Madness is celebrated endlessly, and
brackets are analyzed like the equation in Good
Will Hunting.  Marchmas headquarters
is transformed into a modern day CTU (24
reference).  There are flat screen
televisions everywhere, each programmed to a different game.  I-pads and laptops are utilized to break down
matchups, while friendly wagers are made between attendees.  The food, oh my, is there food.  There is enough artery clogging goodness that
it would make Chris Christie proud.

The
only accepted uniform is sweatpants and team apparel.  The last person that tried to wear jeans was
promptly escorted out, and was excommunicated from the Marchmas email
circle.  Needless to say being
black-balled by the Marchmas committee is on par with declaring bankruptcy or
wearing a scarlet “A” in public. 

I
asked the host of the event his thoughts on Marchmas entering it’s fourth year.

He
said, “After the creation of DVR and my fiancé agreeing to marry me, Marchmas
is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.”

That
speaks volumes because the host really loves his DVR.

For
those who attend the annual Marchmas celebration it is like an adult
Christmas.  It is exciting, everyone is
happy, and expectations are always surpassed. 
The only differences are our Christmas tree is a 5-foot coffin cooler
and our gifts come in the form of a giant Servatii pretzel and white castle
sliders.

I
bring up Marchmas because the NCAA tournament is almost upon us, and we would
like to hear how you celebrate the “madness”. 
Do you have an annual ritual or party that you look forward to during
March?  Do you watch the games with your
friends?  Do you prefer to watch the
games in solitude so that you can swear at the television in private?  As you fill out your brackets next week
remember that the 2nd annual FTM Best Business Bracket will be
ongoing on our blog.  You need to return
frequently and vote for your favorite Fort Thomas entity to get them in the
finals.  Leave your comments below, and enjoy
the tournament everyone!