I have never been fond of the month of February. Of the 12 months, February is the one that offers the least in terms of cultural contributions. When other people say they hate February, they usually only point to Valentine’s Day. That is the biggest reason why this month sucks, but there are other reasons too. Let’s go through some of them.

February is a terrible month for sports. Sure it has the Super Bowl now, but that’s only one day out of 28. We have the NBA (which doesn’t get really interesting until the end of the season) and college basketball. That’s it. All the other months have a lot to offer sports-wise. March has March Madness, April through October has baseball, football, NBA and NHL playoffs; November through January has football. Sports always help months go by faster. So just because of the sheer absence of athletic competition in this month, February just feels longer to me.

February also sucks because it has a lack of good movies. Hollywood studios are notorious for dumping movies with no expectations in January and February. So we’re stuck with bad family movies and, even worse, romantic comedies. Listen, contrary to what some people close to me may say, I do not hate romantic comedies or chick flicks. I just hate movies that are stupid, predictable and insult the audiences’ intelligence. It just so happens that a lot of romantic comedies are like that. I’m still suffering from "Bride Wars" and "He’s Just Not that Into You."

It’s very rare that we get really good movies in February ("The Silence of the Lambs" was released in February 1991; this year’s "Shutter Island" looks fantastic). Hopefully Hollywood will spread the wealth and release their best movies all year round, but since that idea makes perfect sense, it will never actually happen.

But of course, the number one reason why I hate February is, obviously, Valentine’s Day. This is by far the most useless, irritating and demeaning holiday on the calendar, narrowly edging out Arbor Day (Why do trees need a day? Has anyone answered that? They’ll get chopped down and they’ll like it). Valentine’s Day is a holiday manufactured by Hallmark to make single people feel terrible. You could argue that Thanksgiving and Christmas are also manufactured, but at least those holidays can be enjoyed by anyone and they usually bring family together. If you’re single, Valentine’s Day has nothing to offer you.

It gets even worse when couples openly brag about what they’re doing on Valentine’s Day. You love each other, we get it. Now go away. It also sends a bad message. If you’re in a really good relationship, do you really need a day to tell you to be extra nice to your significant other? You should try to be good to your partner every day, not when society tells you to. At least anniversaries and birthdays have an emotional connection.

Valentine’s Day is just manufactured and exists only to turn a profit. I try to look for the good in any situation, so here are some good things about February: pitchers and catchers report, and…well, that’s about it. March needs to get here fast.