March is for March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day
At Jackpot Capital casino one of the most popular themes in all of slotsdom is all things Irish. Irish-themed slots have vibrant colors centering on green and when the leprechaun speaks, you can hear that beautiful, classic Irish brogue.
March is the Emerald Island’s most famous month because it is when the Irish and all those who identify as Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Who Was St. Patrick?
St. Patrick was a Catholic priest and missionary who travelled to pagan Ireland to convert the native tribes—mainly Picts, Angles, and Saxons—to Christianity. He was so successful in converting these indigenous people that he is considered one of the foremost—if not the foremost—proselytizers of the Irish people and Christianizers of the island.
Although St. Patrick was not a native of Ireland, he made it his home and served as a Bishop in the Catholic Church in Ireland.
St. Patrick had his share of tragedy as well. He was a slave for six years and managed to escape his slavery in a desperate attempt to reach England. But his religious fervor won over so many converts that be was celebrated as a saint.
Legends Followed St. Patrick
By the seventh century, many legends were in circulation in Ireland about the miracles that St. Patrick wrought. One miracle was his driving of the snakes of the island into the sea. Another has him praying for food for soldiers on a dangerous trek and a herd of boar suddenly appeared.
St. Patrick himself claimed that he had raised at least 30 men from the dead. All in all, St. Patrick was a very serious character, regaled in the history of Ireland, and canonized by the church.
Why are There So Many Slots with Irish Themes?
As serious an historical figure as St. Patrick was and as difficult as Irish history has been, the Irish people are famous for their general good cheer, sense of humor, delightful accent, and love of Irish whisky.
The Irish are also associated with luck as in the saying, “the luck of the Irish”. The cloverleaf is also a symbol of luck and the very rare four leaf clover will bring great luck to whoever finds one.
There are Interesting Customs Surrounding St. Patrick’s Day
In Chicago, the city dyes the Chicago River green about a week before St. Patrick ’s Day. Chicago also hosts one of the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parades. Other American cities with big St. Patrick’s day parades are New York (of course) , Boston, and Philadelphia.
Believe it or not, St. Patrick’s Day is also celebrated in Japan with many parades especially in Tokyo.
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On St. Patrick’s Day People:
- Wear green.
- Wear leprechaun hats.
- Drink Guinness beer. Guinness may not be the best stout but is by far the most famous. An interesting trivia fact about Guinness is that it is cheaper for pubs in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, to import Guinness from Israel rather than from Ireland!
- Watch Irish dance. The Irish jig guy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYmsbjhd--E
- Saying “kiss me, I’m Irish”. This comes from the famous Blarney Stone which is said to give the gift of gab to anyone who kisses it. Since most people never get to kiss the actual Blarney Stone, they elicit kisses with the aforementioned saying.
- Listening to Irish music. Irish folk music is among the most popular in the world. The Irish whistle and bagpipes are recognized all over the world.
- Eating corned beef and cabbage.
There is an apocryphal story about a Chicago insurance salesman regarding corned beef and cabbage. This salesman had just been hired to sell insurance. A few days after his hiring, his supervisor asked him if he had made any sakes yet.
He said, “No, but I’m on a first name basis with all the Smiths in the phone book”. He then related how he called one Mr. Smith who said that he had just sat down to eat supper. The salesman asked what he was eating that night for supper and the prospective client said corned beef and cabbage. The salesman then said, “if you don’t mind my asking, what did you cut into first?”. As it turned out, the prospective client had cut into the cabbage first!
The Irish are the Best Writers
One last custom for St. Patrick’s Day is to read Irish literature. It has been said that the Irish produce the best writers in sheer quality of writing and per capita. Here are ten of the most famous Irish writers that everyone recognizes:
- Jonathan Swift. Author of "Gulliver’s Travels".
- James Joyce. Author of "Ulysses".
- William Butler Yeats. Author of "Sailing to Byzantium".
- Oscar Wilde. Author of the great comedy “The Importance of being Ernest”.
- George Bernard Shaw. Author of many plays and the famous introductions to this plays.
- C. S. Lewis. Author of the "Alice in Wonderland" classics.
- Samuel Beckett. Author of “Waiting for Godot”.
- Frank McCourt. Author of “Angela’s Ashes”.
- Maeve Binchy.
- Iris Murdoch.
What is March Madness?
This is a series of American college basketball tournaments culminating in a tournament, the winner of which is crowned that year’s college basketball champion.
The final tournament features 64 teams divided into regional sections. Each game is an elimination game so the winner of the tournament has to win six games in a row!
There are many regional tournaments that determine who the final 64 teams will be. These local tournaments are the start of March Madness. Keep in mind that these are amateur athletes ranging in age from 18 to 22 or so. The entire student body of any small to large college or university gets into the games that will determine if their team gets into the final tournament or not.
Cinderella Lives in March
One aspect of the final tournament is that all of the 16 teams listed in each of the four regions are given a ranking from first seed to sixteenth seed. It is very common for a lower seeded team to beat a higher seeded team. Every year at least one team advances far into the tournament starting as a low seed. These teams are called “Cinderella” teams.
Many basketball fans love March Madness a lot more than they like the National Basketball Association’s long playoff season!
Celebrate Good Times, Come On!
March is the month to channel your inner Irish person. It is also the month to channel your inner supporter of the underdog. The Irish have been an underdog historically for many centuries but in terms of literature, music, dance, humor, and much more, the Irish sit at the top of the world cultural hierarchy.
Many underdog teams advance in the winner takes all March Madness set of tournaments. Every so often, a true underdog wins the championship. The team from little Loyola of Chicago, with no players who ever played in the NBA, won the championship in 1962!
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