Every year in the middle of March, it’s the same story – Cinderella teams and decades- old powerhouses fighting for the title of college basketball’s best team. Some people get tired of it after one or two days of games, whereas some folks – me included – can’t get enough.
There are a lot of reasons it’s so popular. For one, there are plenty of Division I schools that have basketball teams – good ones at that – that don’t have football teams. Four of those teams (Florida Gulf Coast, Marquette, Wichita State and La Salle) are still in the tournament. This means that more Americans can be invested in it, as their alma maters simply have a higher chance of competing for a championship. 68 teams can win it, versus two for college football, for example.
Speaking of Florida Gulf Coast, the Eagles are a fantastic story to say the least. The school itself is barely two decades old and has already rocketed to one of college sports’ greatest heights. FGCU and Longwood actually played a year ago with the Eagles coming out on top by a 101-58 margin down in Fort Myers. Florida Gulf Coast is the first 15th-seed to advance to the Sweet 16, at once busting brackets and winning over hearts in the process. The last team a team seeded very low got to the Sweet 16 was in 1997 when 14th-seeded Chattanooga beat Georgia and Illinois to get to the third round.
The intensity of the competition is better, I would contend, than any other tournament or game in sports. Teams have to go on a six-game winning streak (or six one-game winning streaks) to get where they ultimately want to be. One of the unofficial slogans of the tourney is “survive and advance,” which really makes sense. It’s cliché, but coaches and players really do take it one game at a time. And they have to. These aren’t (supposed to be) professional athletes; they’re 18-to-22-year-olds who are playing for the names on the front of their jerseys and not the ones on their backs.
One bad game (like Georgetown and New Mexico had), and you’re done until November. One good game, like FGCU and Harvard had, and you indeed live to play another day. It’s not like the sports that have series and a few games spread out over a month. Only six wins in three weeks with three sets of two games, and the games themselves (first two rounds, regional semifinals and finals and Final Four) two days apart gets you the title. As Ricky Bobby said, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” It’s one of my favorite movie quotes ever, and it fits March Madness to a tee. The only thing people remember is first place.
Another reason people like the tournament is because anybody that plays at that level has a shot at the outset of the season. It rewards greatness and getting hot at the right time.
Putting the rivalry aside for a moment, Liberty represented the Big South in the opening round because they got on a streak at the right time. Teams like Maryland and Virginia Tech started the season hot and trailed off when the time came to step up. JMU, FGCU and all the other mid-major schools that got an at-large/automatic bid earned it through greatness and tough out-of-conference scheduling.
It’s not always a competition of talent, though. This isn’t to say FGCU, Harvard and their Cinderella predecessors weren’t athletic or talented; they are. The NCAA Tournament is about heart, above all else, combined with athletic ability. On a stage that large, composure and courage are the ultimate attributes, and a team with players full of those has a better shot than any.
Also, there’s no tournament so large that’s as hyped as this. Two months of “bracketology” go into it, as talking heads from the biggest TV networks and smallest blogs discuss who’s making it and where they’ll be seeded. Over the two weeks leading up to the tournament, the anticipation is at a fever pitch as teams make their final cases to earn a bid. Teams like La Salle finish strong and get in, while teams like Virginia are relegated to the second-rate NIT.
Over 8 million brackets were filled out on ESPN leading up to the tournament. None of those are perfect any more. The odds of filling out a perfect bracket are 1-in-9.2 quintillion. In other terms, you’re more likely to win the lottery while getting struck by lightning than getting a perfect bracket. With any luck, though, you’re in a respectable position and have a chance at winning your pool. I’ve got a slim chance at winning $100 in my pool, but that’s ok. Teams like FGCU and Wichita State going on their runs are what make March the best time of the year for sports fans – no matter how red a filled-out bracket gets.
*** This editorial is an opinion stated by the writer and does not represent the views of The Rotunda or Longwood University.
