For those of you that don't know, this college basketball event is kind of a big deal. It has generated into an event that causes even the hardest workers to slack off and the most avid opponents of betting, to somehow find themselves in the famed bracket pool.
Last year's March Madness brought in a staggering 1.15 billion dollars (that's right, billion). That is a pretty amazing statistic considering that every single one of the players in this tournament is younger than me (and none of the money goes to them directly). I will only speak for myself in saying that I watch for a few reasons: the storylines (who doesn't like seeing a number 14 seed upset a 3 on a buzzer beater?), the unlikely heros (I will talk about a few of my favorites), and my personal love of sports (I will also expand on this).
I'll give you a little history about me and my experience with the March Madness brackets. I have been filling out a bracket since fourth grade (pretty crazy I have been making selections for 16 years). In fourth grade, I wasn't a college basketball whiz kid and had very little knowledge of how the seeding worked, so I filled out my bracket pretty blindly. Anyways, I chose Notre Dame and Boston College to make it to the finals (I liked B.C.'s colors). Retroactively, it seems I was a big fan of those Catholic schools (must have been the subliminal messages in the sermons). Unfortunately, my dreams were dashed, when they both lost in the first round (luckily, there were bigger fish to fry in fourth grade). Early on, my oldest brother Joe made sure that the scoring was done properly and that we all got our brackets in on time, but I couldn't wait for the day that my turn came! Anyways, years passed, and my brackets started getting progressively better and better, probably due to my thorough, consistent research (for a time, I cut out the updated AP Top 25 from the newspaper, and compared them week to week to mark team's consistencies or not). My sophomore year in high school (one of the few years I had ESPN as a kid) I slept on the couch every night, falling asleep to college basketball. I spent hours in my driveway shooting hoops hoping that someday I could be the white kid that came in at the end of the game to seal games with free throws (this, of course, didn't happen).
As I write, two 14 seeds have already sealed their entry into the second round... MADNESS!!
I'll leave you with my top 5 favorite March Madness moments:
5. Gerry McNamara vs. BYU 2004 First Round
Gerry McNamara was my favorite player in the NCAA for as long as he played, after this game, I went outside and tried to imitate his smooth shot for about an hour.
4. Butler vs. Duke, 2010 National Championship
This game was the heartbreak of all heartbreaks. Was there anyone in America, even Duke fans, that wanted to see Duke win that game? Fortunately, Brad Stevens is now working miracles with the Boston Celtics and Hayward is a really good NBA player.
3. Pitt vs. Villanova, 2009 Elite Eight
This game was unbelievable. Back and forth the whole game, and somehow, Scottie Reynolds single-handedly beats five guys to help 'Nova get into the Final Four. (The game also took place in the Garden, so it was bound to be great!)
2. Arizona vs. Illinois, 2005 Elite Eight
This game was out of this world (if you don't believe me, watch the video). Illinois was down 15 with four minutes to go, when Derron Williams and Luther Head decided to take over. Just unbelievable.
1. Vermont vs. Syracuse, 2005 First Round
Clearly, 2005 was a great year for college hoops. All that needs to be said about this game comes at the 1:00 minute mark in this highlight. T.J. Sorrenstine with the absolute dagger.
Stay tuned for more about me, and some of my favorite ever college hoops players!!
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