The greatest day in sports

My bracket in Yahoo under the group "Temple Football Forever." Feel free to join the group.

You can have Super Bowl Sunday, the NBA Finals, opening day in baseball, even the weekend of the Final Four.
To me, the greatest day in sports is the first day of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
I'm not talking about that fake "First Four" day in Dayton, just the real first day, the Thursday opening of the tournament.
And it has nothing to do with putting a few sheckles on the tournament because I felt this way even as a kid.

Thursday is the greatest day in sports and not because it's Pro Timing Day.

Bracket Tip of the Day: I won The Inquirer's NCAA's bracket pool two years ago. By then, there were so many layoffs that the winning pot went from $2,550 my first year there to $440 my last. The first 14 years I worked there, I read over every team's bio in both papers before picking and never won anything. Information overload. The year I won, I just printed out a pool Sunday night and did it myself. Sometimes, too much information is a bad thing. Last year, I understand the Inky didn't even have a pool. Another sad commentary on the failing state of the newspaper business.
But I digress.
I'm a Temple football fan first and foremost, but I'm also a sports fan.
For all the reasons that compel me to love college football, though, the unique fairness of college basketball's first NCAA day makes it the most appealing and exciting sports day of the year for me.
Sixty-four teams have, at least in theory, an equal chance of cutting down the nets in early April and walking off National Champion.
I think that's terrific.
College football, other than FCS, has no such fairness structure.
So if I had to rate sports days of the year, as a Temple football fan first and foremost, they've be this:
1) NCAA Opening Thursday
2) Any Temple football bowl day;
3) Temple Football Opening Day;
4) Temple Football Signing Day;
5) Temple Football Bowl Selection Sunday;

Next up on that list would be Phillies Opening Day and Eagles' Opening Day.
If I was keeping this a Temple-football-centric list, it'd would be:
1) Temple bowl day;
2) Temple opening day;
3) Temple signing day;
4) Temple bowl selection Sunday;

Since Temple football practice starts on Friday, you'd think I'd put that there.
 Or even Cherry and White Day.
I'm like Allen Iverson.
I'm not a big practice guy, but I realize it's a necessary evil.
While walking off the field after Myron Miles went for 134 yards and three touchdowns in a spring game a couple of years ago, someone said to me.
"They really looked good out there today, huh?"
I said, "They always look like they are going to go unbeaten on Cherry and White Day. Show me in September, October and November."
We never saw Myron Miles again, partially proving my point.


Tomorrow: Five position changes that have helped Temple over the years.