Relax, this is not going to be an article about N.C. State’s unfortunate exit from the NCAA tournament, I’ll leave that up to our sports writers. This is about why the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship is one of the best sporting events in the United States.
Though college football has a playoff system on the way, and baseball convenes during the College World Series, the Men’s Basketball Championship is like no other.
Whether it’s an elementary student placing lunch-time bets with OREOs or your grandmother wagering some change in a book club, the tournament’s popularity extends to all walks of life. The thrill of an upset or the tracking of an alma mater glue us to our TVs, rooting for the underdog.
All of the sudden you’ve become a fan of La Salle University or Wichita State because you picked them in your bracket. Most peoples’ brackets are registered through ESPN Tournament Challenge — this year’s total set a new record this year at 8.15 million brackets.
No justification is required in the Tournament Challenge, and common sense flies out the window. People have picked teams with a coin toss, mascot battle and recently Wall Street Journal’s Blindfold Bracket. The Blindfold Bracket showed people each game individually by stats and covered up the names and specific rankings in an effort to eliminate bias. But whether you are a third grader choosing which animal you prefer or an ESPN analyst evaluating defensive rebounds and steals, your chances are the same.
The recent expansion from 64 teams to 68 teams decreased the odds of picking every game correct from one in 9.2 quintillion, to one in 147 quintillion.
The chances of picking every game correct are slim, yet each year millions claim their Cinderella and ride them until they fall. This year Florida Gulf Coast is wearing the glass slipper — and will have the expectations of millions on its shoulders this Friday when it plays for the state championship against the Florida Gators.
Every year a true underdog story emerges and captivates a nation hoping the clock will never strike midnight.
March Madness is unlike anything else. It represents something in college sports the NCAA got very right and brings together several demographics. Friends boast over correct upsets while colleagues can gripe over losing their office pool to the secretary picking each game by favorite mascot. While you may think only 68 teams take part in March Madness, the tournament lets everyone be a participant in the buzzer beaters, Cinderella stories — resulting in the ripped up pieces of paper you use to call your bracket.
