Claire McArthurSome people countdown the days until Christmas. For others, the rather narcissistic ones in my opinion, until their birthday. Some students claim Homecoming or St. Patrick’s Day as their favourite holidays. However, for me and many others across Canada and the United States, our favourite holiday neither mean a day off work nor home decorations. My favourite holiday, is not a day, actually, rather a month. It’s the best month. It’s March Madness.
February is so short for a reason and it’s not because of the rotation or the Earth or anything else that sounds like a sound bite from the Big Bang Theory. February is so short to make room for March because March brings us the single best sporting event of the year. I know, I know, your precious NHL playoffs are right around the corner, followed by the NBA playoffs, and people on Mars even watch the Super Bowl, but riddle me this: does all the showboating make a great sporting event? Or do buzzer beaters, underdogs, upsets and triumphs, Cinderella stories, nail bitters and everything in between make an even better event?
So what does the Madness entail? Why do I sacrifice at least a few points of my GPA every year to watch 64 68 teams battle it out? March Madness is the championship tournament for NCAA basketball. Every year 68 teams battle it out and try to win five games in a row to be crowned the National Champion. It’s a single elimination, do or die, win or you’re out type of tournament that brings out the best and worst in every team in the tournament. All it takes is five straight wins, but I swear it’s easier said than done.
Doron Lamb of the number one overall seed, Kentucky.
For you vets of the tournament, I hope you have your bracket started and you’re as excited as I am to have a potential UConn/Kentucky match up in the second round coming out of the South.
For everyone who hasn’t been following the Madness like a religion for the past ten years go here, print off a bracket and fill it in. The tournament is full of surprises and upsets. People pick teams based on cities, school colours, mascots and everything else under the sun, so fill one out even if you have no idea about any of the teams or even the sport itself. Following your picks, watch a game and cheer for who you selected to move on in your bracket. NCAA basketball is the best basketball you can watch on television. Why? Because unlike in the NBA, they play for the name on the front of the jersey, and not the name on the back. The student-athletes don’t worry about sponsorships or endorsements. They play for the pride of their school, the love of the game and for the teammates they call their family.
This year all eyes will be on New Orleans, the location of the Final Four, which consists of the two semi final games and the National Championship Game. Refer to any bracket (or any sports tv station) for game times. I implore you to remember, March only comes around once a year, so why not join in on the Madness?!
