Basketball is arguably the greatest sport to watch year round. The NBA, Euroleague, and the Olympics are just a few examples of the sport at its highest levels. However, one of basketball’s greatest seasons domestically comes in March. It is the time period everyone knows as March Madness.
A one month window where college basketball moves into the forefront and takes the sports world by storm. A single elimination tournament with 68 teams from all four sectors of the United States.
A diverse pool of Division I teams that partake in the penultimate playoff to see who will reign as the NCAA Division I basketball champion. It is a tournament that incorporates both men and women. Both sports each have their own separate tournament.
One of the things that make this tournament such a huge draw is the unpredictability of it. It is so unpredictable that now many across the country make brackets to predict the outcome. There are multiple occasions where rewards are available to those who have a perfect bracket.
It is a phenomena that sweeps the country yearly and pulls in fans that are not college basketball fans. March Madness does such a great job of this that it even steals away some NBA fans.
The NFL and NBA which are the two most popular domestic sports, do this to a degree but not like college basketball.
The NFL’s big fan grab is the Super Bowl which draws everyone’s eyes for a day. While the NBA’s staple is the NBA Finals but that also is only two weeks at most. The NCAA tournament takes over sports for a whole month which is unprecedented.
The most notable programs such as Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Villanova, and Kansas tend to headline the tournament on a yearly basis. However, the biggest stories come from the underdogs.
Stories like Steph Curry lighting it up for Davidson in the 2008 tournament where they beat the likes of Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin. To this day, Curry’s performances in the 2008 tournament are some of the most memorable in tournament history. As a result, he continues to be one of the most popular players in the NBA today.
Underdogs are the sole reason why brackets are hard to pick. An upset can happen at any time during the tournament. Which is why it is so exciting.
This is a time for hardcore fans and casual ones. A time where a Duke student rooting for their school has something in common with a stranger who picked them in his/her bracket. It is a time for everyone to enjoy, especially since it only comes once a year.
Brendan Abban is a contributing writer for the Hampton Roads Warriors and host of the KBR Sports podcast. Follow him on Twitter @BAbban24 or email him via [email protected].
