March Madness (updated from March 2006 archives)
Other than writing a book about the history of St. Mark's (that's right, good ol' SMHS), I think there's a book in me about or set during March Madness, the Mardi Gras of basketball excitement that grows bigger each year. As much as I enjoy the basketball, my book would chronicle the rest of the hoopla, too. I think I might go the fiction route, with plans to take my story to the big screen.Here's are some working notes to my novel, to which you can respond. Hey, I might even steal your ideas, and of course, credit you as a source.
Here goes:
*Cinderella Effect--Once they get the invitation to the dance, teams from mid-major conferences have proven that they can play with and beat teams from the power conferences. Good players in these conferences, too, sometimes outshine consensus All Americans from the power conferences.
*Jilted Effect--teams that think they should have been in the NCAA usually lose in the NIT tourney
*Microscope Effect--close games, close calls, and buzzer beaters are magnified exponentially under the watchful eyes of millions.
*Cliches, Anyone?--without Vitale's own Diaper Dandy and PTPer, we'll hear the old standards like coaching "chess matches," "survive and advance," "that's going to be a war," and guys with "a lotta heart."
*The Underdog Effect--People root for virtually unknown schools like Albany, Winthrop, and Wright State.
*Addition by Subtraction Effect--without the over-the-top presence of Dick Vitale, the games and plays speak for themselves. And surprisingly, no one feels a need to mention Mike Krzyzewski and Duke during the Southern Illinois/ Holy Cross game.
*Anti-Fools Rush In Effect--less rabid and drunken college fans means no mobbing of center court after big wins.
*Sorry, I'm Busy This Weekend--relationships take a hit during the tourney unless your significant other is a hoop lover like you.
*Chicks Dig the Sousaphone Player--lots of television close-ups of susaphone and tuba players jamming away.
*Nerd Alert--I know this is borderline mean, but March Madness becomes maddening when people who don't know basketball try to sound knowledgable by parroting what they've read and heard.
*Old Folks Home--the game has passed by TV announcers Billy Packer, Vern Lundquist, and Bill Raftery. It could be worse (Duke Vitale, Mike Patrick, Bill Walton, Brent Musberger).
*Nothing New in the IPod? --the CBS/March Madness music is beginning to sound old, too.
*Gender Equity, Anyone?--there just isn't the interest in the women's tournament as in the men's, maybe because Cinderellas are still treated like unwanted stepchildren by the big, bad, Mommas in the power conferences. Look for all of the top seeds to advance.
posted by JTF @ 8:37 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Okay, so first off I have to say that this end of March into April is my favorite time of year. No, not because the temperature hit 70 today or that I can take the spoiled walk that we call playing 9 holes of golf, this is a more important time. As Easter approaches coach K is drilling his players until their hands are cut and Bobby Knight is still threatening to cut kids, this is tourney time, dudes. First off, Mr. Fiorelli, why are you hating on the CBS tunes? That singal theme song brings me pure happiness. However terribly the announcers butcher the names of the players from Davidson, there is something to be said for how entailed people become with this. Okay, my rant is over, but one other thing did catch my eye. You hit a key point right on the head with the comment about "fans" who watch no games all year and start talking like they're a scout from Duke. This is especially bothersome to me, a true fan who knows more than 90% of 10th graders in the country. Just to let you know Holy Cross's guard play from Keith Simmons and Torrey Thomas will propel them past the so-called "powerhouse" of Southern Illinois. Its bothers me, as I'm sure you have felt before, when someone says Gonzaga will make a run, little do they know Josh Heydfelt(leading scorer) has been suspended for two weeks. So, in conclusion my advice is to read up on your stuff, if you want to sound like you've ever watched a basketball game or if your just an ignorant hippocrate who thinks Louisville is in St. Louis.
MCD GREEEEEEEEn
March Madness is one of my favorite sporting events all year. What could be better than watching basketball games all day and filling out your tournament brackets. I also hate all of the people that have not watched a single game all year and still pretend that they can predict the winners and talk like they know what they are talking about but really don't. Another thing that I hate is all of the complaining that is done when teams lose and about one bad call by the ref or something like that. Earlier this week I was listening to the radio and I couldn't believe the number of Drexel fans saying that they should have made the tournament. I also usually cheer for at least one underdog to upset a big seed because it helps to make the games more exciting. Dickie V is a classic annoucer but sometimes he can get a little annoying like when he starts comparing teams to things that don't even make since. Then there are the big teams that everyone picks to win it and sometimes barely win a game or don't even show up and lose. This is definately one of the greatest sporting events in America.
AJG Green
As you know, i am one of the biggest basketball fans ever. I love March Madness, but i'm not a college fan, im more of an NBA person. I love watchin close games with an underdog down in the fourth quarter or second half(depending on the leauge) with the ball and less than a minute on the clock. I'm just not that enthusiastic about college. There are too many teams and way too many names. I am one of those people who doesn't know what they're talking about when i fill out my bracket, but i usually dont talk about my picks anyway. I know it means nothing, but now that my team Duke is out, i picked Georgetown to win it, and when people ask why, its because my favorite player is Allen Iverson. I only know a couple names, such as Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, who would be in the race for the NBA playoffs this year, but the Leauge raised the age limit. I usually only tune in around the elite 8. I just think the NBA is better. Who wouldn't want to see Lebron or Kobe on a fast break or AI at the top of the key with an iso? I March Madness doesn't even compare to May and early June, when the NBA playoffs start. It's just like march madness, but BETTER. There are upsets, but they're BETTER. George Mason was a low seed that got far last year, but what about the Cavaliers? Remember Lebron's triple-double in his first ever playoff game? Or what about his TWO game winners. One of them was after Gilbert Arenas, one of the best shooters in the leauge, missed both clutch freethrows. And how they took the great pistons to all seven games. Then, the Heat were down 0-2, then Dwayne Wade carried then to four straight wins. Also, just because you're good in college doesn't mean anything. J.J. Reddick was one of the biggest names last year, but he went to Orlando and only had 6 points per game, and the only reason i remembered him is because of this journal. Overall, March Madness is fun to watch, but it is nothin compared to the NBA.
Aside from the hideous picture at the beginning (GO UK!!!!), several good points were made. I think that with a few tweeks we could release an award-winning movie, maybe not. I certainly prefer the college level of basketball over NBA simply because players seem to want it more in the NCAA whereas in the NBA they seem lazy and they only care about money instead of the love of the game, but that's a different story. The cinderella effect is the standard in NCAA tornament basketball, there's always one team that surprises everyone by advancing in games when the odds were clearly against them. As far as the teams that think they should've made it into the NCAA tourney I have just one thing to say to them: you should've played better during season play. There's no such thing as a team cheated out of a tournament birth, if they weren't good enough in the regular season why would I want to watch them get shut out in the first round? If teams want to make names for themselves they need to be thinking ahead of time, otherwise they are doomed to the NIT (Not Important Tournament). The main reason why people watch the NCAA Men's Tournament, aside from the hype, is the close games. Where else can you find games ending in double overtime in only the second round, the answer is nowhere. I can still remember two years ago when the winningest men's college basketball program in the nation (the Kentucky Wildcats) tied the game in the last second of regulation play. Sparks, the Cats #1 guard, nailed a tieing 3-pointer at the exact moment the buzzer sounded, you cannot get that kind of excitement anywhere else. And yes, the game and tournament is filled with over-used cliches but what sport isn't? There is no sport on television that the announcers have new sayings every game. As far as the underdog effect, it's everywhere. Unless a team that you really care about or you have money on the game, you tend to root for the lower seed. I guess we just like to see the "David" defeat the "Goliath". I even found myself rooting hard for Estern Kentucky while they were playing UNC, even though 16 seeds have a historical winning percent of 0 against number 1 seeds. What really confuses me is why people continue to cheer for some school called Duke, what's with that? Hating rivals aside the other typical scene of a championship is of crazed fans rushing the court as they cut down the net. Insane college b-ball fans is part of the cultural experience, I imagine it's somewhat like if a Philly team ever won a title. I think the NCAA tournament is great for all ages and genders, but personally if you can't watch a college basketball game and get excited, there's not much I have to say to you. But I also think that the tourney has many layers, you can get into it like my dad and I or you can just clap softly for the team with your favorite colors. And you're right, the college bands all seem to be the ones having fun, no band geeks in college hoops. Now there is somewhat of a lack of interest in the women's tournament, perhaps it's because of the sheer hype that's involved in the men's but I believe it's simply how physical the men's is, you just don't get the same body-banging play in the women's. I can only think of three things wrong with the big dance: guys faking fouls and falling everywhere after being tapped, referees not letting them play, a little contact never hurt anyone, and people out of the loop who didn't even know that the tournament had started. Other than that the end of March to the beginning of April is my Christmas. GO BIG BLUE!!!
Before the March Madness brackets come out I barely watch any college basketball. I am one of those people who barely watch any games during the regular season but still fill out a bracket. When I fill my bracket out I usually guess which team will win. I pick some winners that are lower seeds because I love, as you say, "The Underdog Effect." This year my pick for the winner was Ohio St. There are two reasons why I picked them to win the tournament. The first reason was that they were ranked number one so I thought that they would have a good chance. The second reason is because my dad goes to Ohio sometimes for work and he got me a T shirt that says Ohio State on it. I figured if they went to the Championship I could wear the shirt that he got me. The people who are actual fans of college basketball probably hate people like me. They probably hate when people have no idea what they are talking about and still try to fill out brackets. If I was one of them I would probably would too. This year I have actually watched some games during the tournament. Today I watched part of the Tennessee vs. Virginia game. It was a very close game at the end and it was good. I really don’t have much to say about the March Madness tournament considering the fact that I barely know anything about it.
March Madness has its good points and bad for me personally Fio. Lets begin with the bad. March Madness is bad for me because it takes up all the tv every channel you turn to it has something to do with March Madness. OK now the good. March Madness is an awesome time to bond between family memebers. My mom and myself love to watch it. My Mom more becuase she played the sport in High School and me because I love sports. All you hear around school from the guys is all about there brackets who's winning, losing, out and the testosterone levels in the school go off the charts. It seems that no one even expects girls to know anything about college basketball, or what the sweet sixteen is besides a birthday. Well I do the pic on the front represents one of the teams that sadly got knocked out in the first round by VCU. I am a huge North Carolina and Duke fan. So this year is Tarheels all the way. March Madness is just such a good time to get into that competitive nature and have fun at the same time. Also win some cash in the brackets. What you said earlier a the "Cinderella" story is sooo true. All these teams work their butts off to get in and if they had a bad record in the first round and make it to the second that starts the story. It is so great watching these teams ranked lower than thier opponnet come out with the win is an amazing thing to watch. You can just see the glory and pure joy in their face. Now thats what I call a true Cindrella Story. As my final words I will say GO TARHEELS!!!
Honestly, I think the “Cinderella effect” is too typical. No one likes to hear stories like those unless they are true. People have gotten so tired of seeing a rags-to-riches story. Over time all the stories blur together and every one seems the same. But they are not. Each story is unique but the audience can’t see that because they are so bored with the same idea. So if you want to sell you’re story, don’t use the full Cinderella effect, just bits and pieces maybe. I think you’re story should be about two teams how have been winning or coming in reserve champ every year or something like that. (I don’t know that much about the NCAA so bare with me). For example, Blue Team has won the past 6 tournaments and are defending champions. The Red Team had its champion streak winning 9 tournaments in a row, but that was 50 years ago. Now they have fresh legs and a new coach who graduated from Blue Team and wants to have his own little revenge on the school. Red Coach wants revenge because of a certain event that happened in an NCAA game (let your imagination go wild). That’s just a start, I don’t want to write your book. So think about it, it may seem cheesy or whatever but hey, I’m only a sophomore. Maybe you can take bits and pieces from this idea and create something extraordinary.
Ooh! That goes to the best season of them all - basketball! During the lovely 2 weeks of March Madness, everyone who cares for bball gets out their brackets and ejoys watching these games!
I like to watch these games because I, too, play basketball on a less competetive team, SJB Senior League. Although we are not as "hard core" as March Madness, I do have a trophy from our championship that we dominated in!
March madness is a time to see all the fans that are there to support their teams! Many people come out to see these games having not even watched a single game until now! It is an exciting time. Your team could be out there working their heart and soul into the game! I believe that every sport should be supported this much. I mean when you look into the stands at these games, it shows that they really LOVE their team. Painted faces, arms, legs, stomachs! Haha, It's all a little too much for my eyes!
I don't have a favorite team, but I love seeing a good game, the closer the better! Also watching the awesome moves the players try on eachother makes me want to be on the court!
Also, knowing that all the winter sports are or already have come to an end makes me yearn for spring!
I love March Madness! Anytime that I get a chance to watch television, I search through all the channels looking for any basketball game. The game could be the NBA, WNBA, NCAA (men's or women's), or even overseas basketball (LBA). I love any type of basketball, whether it is street basketball or official basketball. My favorite team won the championship last year and the returning five starters are all looking for another championship. This team, if you don't know, is the Florida Gators. They have all of their starters back for another round of March Madness. The starters are Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Lee Humphrey, Taurean Green, and the key reserve is Chris Richard. Florida's whole starting line up is over six feet tall! The Gators star player, Joakim Noah, is 6'11" and he averages about 14.2 points per game. If I was ever offered the chance to work on my basketball skills, let alone meet him I would take the offer without even thinking about it. March is my favorite month for a couple reasons: my birthday is March 29th and March madness occurs. My favorite types of games are when the game is really close and the team that is ahead thinks that the other team is out of time to either tie the game for overtime or to just win, but then with about 10 secs left the losing team wins the game because they never gave up. Basketball is a huge part of my life even if I don't make teams that I want to make. I just try harder the next time and I work on the things that need to be improved for the next season. I don;t know who your pick for the winner is, but mine is definitely the Florida Gators. They play so well together even if they are losing. Also it's not just a one-man team like some of the other teams. The players depend on each other and they have each other's backs. GO FLORIDA GATORS!!
Im going to start by saying I haven’t watched much college basketball this year but I’m no idiot and I tune in for the biggest sporting tournament in the world known as "March Madness". March Madness is very much anticipated by many people but is a very exciting tournament that displays not only the talent and dedication of these college’s athletes but it brings a lot of competition and involvement of the fans also. All my friends and I get very serious when the brackets come out and the competition to see who can predict the outcome of the tourney the best. The brackets really make you get into the tourney and you begin to find your self sitting in front of the TV for basically the whole day trying to stay updated on scores and how your doing. Let's just say I'm having an off year for predicting the tourney this year because my bracket looks terrible right now but I still love watching the games and the games are always phenomenal.
March Madness is ridiculous, although very exciting. I always think I have the best bracket out of my friends and then there comes an outrageous upset, (VCU - DUKE anyone?) which throws everything out of proportion. Now I’m not saying I support the Blue Devils, I am more of a Maryland guy. (Go Terps!-never mind they already lost to Butler) The excitement and buzz about making it to the stinky 16 or the elite 8 is madness, literally. I am not trying to be sexist at all, like you said but who takes the time to fill out a girls bracket and follow through with it, Another thing about that is that girls make the best brackets, seriously. I know many girls who it seemed they just close their eyes and picked teams because they think they have cooler colors or something along the lines of that. My strategic bracket got crushed by a girl, (unbiassed opinion) who couldn’t know a thing about sports. It’s all in good taste any ways, I have never been a man to gamble over college sports especially March Madness and people with their pools and crazy strategies to win. I would rather stick to board game or something, I usually get sick of the bracket by the third round any ways. Too many upsets tends to get boring and stupid.
Alrighty Fio, here goes my basketball story.
I'm not really a huge basketball fan. But I do understand the game and played for a few years in gradeschool. Let me tell you, it was pretty hardcore. [haha] Anyway, I'm just not a juge fan of watching basketball. The other day though, when I was hanging out at my g-pop's house, I got a chance to really watch my first basketball game! Not like there is much else to do down in Kent County, LOWER Delaware! But suprisingly, I really enjoyed it! The game was Xavier vs. Ohio State, a good in-state rivalry. I'm guessing you saw it, but the game was fantastic! Except I do have to admit I accidentally took a nap around halftime, but I didn't miss much! In the second half, Xavier, who has never(?) beaten OSU was up eleven points! In the end, OSU realllllly picked it up and it was a three point game in hte last nine seconds. Lewis, (a freshman, i think?) took a shot from way out and hit it! He sent the game soaring into a 5 minute overtime! In the end, like usual OSU really stepped it up and won when it counted. The game actually changed my perspective on watching basketball games, I might try and catch a few more!
-- Watch my facts! I know your a b-ball buff and I'm going off memory from last week; and its late!
March Madness is pretty fine and nice, but overall I find it a little overrated. I mean I'll watch one of the games if their on, and I happen to pass by it, then yeah, I'll watch it. But I think some people really go overboard with March Madness with pool picking and making up stats to see how many points so and so scored while playing compared to so and so who only had this x amount of playing time, ect. It gets kind of annoying. Honestly, I'd much rather watch the NCAA division one wrestling championships (and I did) on ESPN. Not only that, but I find that during March Madness my conversations with people become pretty awkward. Why? Simple, because I don't follow college basketball all that much. Sure, it's interesting and cool and whatnot, but I find that I spend more not watching the game when it's on, as opposed to watching it. Because of this all my conversations in March go something like "So, did you hear how Drexel didn't even MAKE the tournament? That's unbelievable." That or " WOW, did watch Duke get upset in the first round like they did? How pitiful." All the while I'll just be standing there bewildered nodding my head, half-heartedly saying "oh yeah, that's terrible... what a shame." It's just terrible. But March Madness can still be fun. I actually have found myself printing out those pools, trying to guess winners, and then feeling so stupid for getting every choice wrong. It can be fun, just don't take it overboard.
It has just been in the past year or two that I have even paid any attention to college basketball and March madness. I’ve always heard about it and all the excitement that goes along with it, but I just didn’t have an interest in it until not to long ago. A lot of it really is just knowing what everyone is talking about. If the game yesterday is all anyone talks about and you have no clue what happened, then needless to say, you feel a little left out. If my main teams that I root for aren’t in the tourney, then ill go with who ever is getting the most attention to win. I’m not too into following the teams all year and stats and players. I like to do that for football but not so much for basketball. But when March madness rolls around of course get out the brackets and watch espn (not like I don’t do that already) but it's fun and it's something that so many people do. Some people talk about it and have no idea what their saying, and some eat sleep and breath college basketball. For me, it’s there, it's fun, but not always the number one thing on my list.
Okay, against all legitimate reasoning, I, who never played an organized game of basketball, entered a march madness poll. So what did i do? I gave it to my buddy Mr. Sibley to pick the right teams. Its a week into the tournament and i have to say that ol' Sibbs picks arent doing to hot. Though i am dissapointed about my present placement of 24th in this poll, i am not disspointed how involved this poll has gotten me into the whole march madness swing. I still do think theres a little too much hype for a tournament that involves basketball but i am able to understand where its coming from. From the upsets to the buzzer beaters, i have to say that a lot of the games that i have watched so far are quite exilerating. Though im not a J.R. when it comes to basketball i still enjoy watching a close game and seeing someone swish a three pointer from half court is unrivaled. About the women's tournament, you state a good point. Delaware has (or had) TWO girl teams in the tournament and I've heard maybe one person say something about them. The delaware boys team didnt even come close yet theres money and brackets flying all around about that tournament. Maybe if the girls had a little more home support, they would have done a little better. Finally, even not being a big basketball fan i believe im still required to have a favorite team in the tournament. So im going with Maryland and i hope they clean up shop.
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