In Heaven There Is No Beer...

...that's why we drink it here. Yes my friends, it's that magical night that only occurs once year, Saint Patrick's Day Eve. A night when beer drinkers everywhere stay up late, decorating their kegs, dusting off their collection of pint glasses, hoping that this is the year that the leprechaun sneaks in and leaves a pot o' gold or, even better, a dark ray of sunshine (a case of Guinness, people, try to stay with me please).

How often do the leprechauns actually make it to people's houses to leave their gifts? Not very, unsurprisingly - it's a busy time of year for them after all, lots of celebrating to do! They've barely recovered from that nasty month-long Christmas season nogg-induced hangover/coma by early February, and then Mardi Gras comes along (what, you think that the little dudes don't celebrate Mardi Gras? Leprechauns are Catholic, you know), then their signature holiday the month after that - it's a bit of a rough time most years. Then, even if they do make a visit, you still have to measure up; have you been a nice or a naughty drinker this year? Do you offer to buy rounds, make fun of those haughty and imperialist English whenever possible, and visit your Irish friends in the hospital? Or do you offer your friends cheap beer when they visit, confuse Ireland and Scotland, and begin beer-related discussions with the phrase, "Guinness is OK, but..."? The answers to those questions may very well determine whether the luck o' the Irish is with you tomorrow - I hope for your sake that you've represented your fellow drinkers well over the past year.

As if Saint Patrick's Day could be any more special, this year it not only falls on a Friday, but coincides with the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Maybe I'll devote an entire post in the near future to the criminality of neither Saint Patrick's Day nor the NCAA 1st round being national holidays. But for now, my bracket is kicking some serious ass! As of this writing, 11 of 12, with the late games looking decent as well. That probably means that I'll go 5 for 16 tomorrow, but hey whatever - tomorrow's for celebrating, no matter how the games end.