March has to be one of my favorite months. The changing of cold to mild. The anticipation of spring break. Most importantly it is time for a three week invasion of college basketball. This is what months of games has lead to. No more talk about who has the resume, the RPI, strength of schedule. After selection Sunday all will be resolved. The "bubble" teams will have either burst into the NIT or slid into the tournament with hopes of a miracle run. Speaking of miracle runs, that is how some colleges gain the attention of America (George Mason). And yes, all of America is aware of what is going on in the tournament. Especially with improbably teams going far like George Mason's final four run last year. The more likely reason that all of America knows what is going on is tournament pools. The brackets are incredibly easy to fill out, someone with no sports knowledge can fill one out in a few minutes. Whether there is a prize or not most people find it fun to see if they can predict upsets, the final four, etc.
I have noticed something strange about the tournament. It seems like the end of the tournament is usually not as exciting the beginning. The beginning has games during the day, multiple games at the same time, and potential upsets. It seems like unless your team is in the final four, it is more fun to watch games earlier in the brackets. I think this could be linked to filling out brackets. Longer the tournament progresses, the fewer games to look out for on your bracket.
So as I march into the madness, I plan on being the typical sports fan. Watching all the games I can, filling out multiple brackets for multiple pools (all money-free of course). I can hear that familiar CBS music now.....
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