I spent Monday night with 10,678 of my closest friends at the Times Union Center cheering on the Saints.

They didn’t disappoint.

For the third year in a row, our hometown Siena Saints are headed to the NCAA tournament — or as my dad likes to call it, “The Big Dance.”

Monday night’s game was one of the best I’ve seen in a while. Siena made up a 15-point deficit in the second half and won it in overtime. Great, great basketball.

The game was a lot of fun, and brought out the best of the Capital District. The guy sitting behind me had just won a million dollars in the lottery. I spotted Jerry Jennings and Jim Kambrich.

The ambience wasn’t made by local celebs or lottery winners though, it was made by the 10,000 people who wanted nothing more than to see the Saints make their third March Madness appearance.

The only blemish on an otherwise perfect game occurred when junior Ryan Rossiter fouled out with around 30 seconds left in the game. A Fairfield player literally knocked him to the ground while he stood there. It was a shame for him not to be able to finish.

But he’ll get plenty of playing time come next weekend.

You may remember from last year that I adore “The Big Dance.”

I was talking with one of my friends last week who said she thinks she gets down in the winter because it's in between football and baseball season. I’m not a huge football fan, so I don’t entirely understand her point. But I am counting down until Opening Day (April 4 Yankees @ Redsox).
I just looked at her and said, “March Madness.”

College basketball gives us something we so desperately need in these final weeks of winter. And with Siena, the Capital District has a stake in the game.

So come next Thursday or Friday, I’ll don my dad’s old Siena shirt and get ready to sing “When the Saints Go Marching in.”

Love the Saints? Can’t stand them? Think they’ll make it past the first round (I do and my brother — who is also my bracketologist — does too.