Because we can’t all be Coach K

Yes, it’s that magical time of year when we assemble brackets, make our picks, and then trash-talk our way through Holy Women, Holy Men: the Saints of the Episcopal Church (though, to be fair, some of us trash-talk that volume year round.  But then again, we are professionals.)

This year, Lent Madness promises to be more exciting than ever.

For one thing, NAU Canterbury is hosting our very own Lent Madness Pool of Greatness.*

That’s right.  For those of you who have been wondering how you can deepen your Lenten devotion while taking concrete action to better the world and extend your church’s ministry to young adults, I have made a way!

The way it works is simple:

–Fill out a bracket with your picks and send it to me by 11:59pm February 12 (Shrove Tuesday).  Sending a picture is fine, so long as it’s legible.

–Include a pledge with your bracket–some amount of money for every pick that you get wrong. (i.e. “For every pick I miss, I pledge 50 cents to NAU Canterbury”)

–Vote in Lent Madness, and follow along with your trusty bracket.

–When we get to Easter, I’ll compare brackets, and whoever gets the most picks right, will win the Award of Greatness.  (Which has yet to be determined, but will most likely be a mug.)

–Also, you send me the results of your pledge.

–Everyone can rest satisfied in the knowledge that they have made the world a better place through some light gambling on the Saints of God.  And who doesn’t want that?

The other thing that will make Lent Madness a thrill-a-minute roller coaster this year is that I have the honor of being a Celebrity Blogger.  So if you enjoy my writing on various and sundry topics here, imagine how much you will enjoy reading my biographies of saints!  And, better yet, the other Celebrity Bloggers are even better at this than I am, with more wit, sarcasm and knowledge than I could ever hope to achieve. There is even a running color commentary on YouTube this year.  (Because, let’s face it, color commentary is the best part of all sports programming.)

So no matter what, you should play along at http://www.lentmadness.org.  It promises to be fun, enlightening and redemptive of those of us who may not fully appreciate the glories of whatever-else-involves-brackets this time of the year.

*Title refers to this commercial from the 1990s.  I keep hoping this will happen now that I’m a Celebrity Blogger.  So far, no limos.

**This is like the Pit of Despair, only filled with Greatness instead.