The month of March has a tendency to fly under peoples’ radar, but March is also known for its madness, and it lived up to the bill once again this year.
The NCAA college basketball tournament every March is the best sporting event on the planet. It has something for everybody.
First, if you’re a drama seeker, look no further than the Kentucky-Notre Dame game. The supposed best team in the tourney, Kentucky, came back to win in overtime over the Irish— a game that contained more drama than an episode of “Law and Order.”
Second, if you enjoy an underdog story, the No. 11 seed UCLA made the Sweet Sixteen, and maybe even more impressively, the No. 7 seed Michigan State Spartans were in the Final Four. With hopes of wearing the glass slipper, the Spartans are a true Cinderella story.
This year’s tournament has provided more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan film, like No. 13 seed Georgia State upsetting the No. 3 seed Baylor Bears. Another No. 13 seed beat a No. 3 seed when University of Alabama Birmingham upset the Iowa State Cyclones in the first round.
Third, if you’re just an old-fashioned sports fan, there is no better feeling than watching a game where a team has to win or go home, where survive and advance are all that matter.
This makes filling out your bracket exciting. There’s a reason there is a million dollar prize for a perfect bracket, it’s nearly impossible to achieve. You are more likely to win the lottery then perfectly pick 67 college basketball games correctly. For all these reasons, the tournament provides excitement no other sport can provide.
Some will ask, what about the World Cup? Isn’t that the most popular sporting event on the planet?
Any time there are countries going at it, like at the World Cup, there is a patriotic element that brings a new crop of fans every four years.
However, there lies the problem. Anything considered the best sporting event has to be every year. Otherwise, it becomes a novelty that is not up to caliber with annual events. Would you prefer to wait a year or four years?
The answer is pretty simple.
The only other thing that can even compare with March Madness is the College Football Playoffs or the NFL playoffs, but they share the same flaw.
It’s the best of the best competing and no chance for a sleeper to upset; it’s human nature to want to see David beat Goliath, but that can’t happen if there is no David.
This year’s Final Four showcased Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Duke in a four-team battle royale.
The teams playing Goliath are Kentucky, a storied program in Duke. Top- seeded Wisconsin and the feisty Michigan State Spartans team will play the role of David.
There is no doubt the NCAA March Madness has already once again defended its title as the best sporting event of the year.
Although, the David versus Goliath match-up didn’t come to fruition as Kentucky and Michigan State both lost Saturday night, the Championship will still be a great game.
Duke squares off against Wisconsin— two No. 1 seeds, the NCAA player of the year Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky, and the winningest coach in Division I history, Mike Krzyzewski.
Though Wisconsin knocked off the 38-0 Wildcats, they still are running into a juggernaut in the Duke Blue Devils.
A big dose of Jahlil Okafor in the end, will prove too much for the Badgers and Kaminsky in Indianapolis in the final game.
