Sports writers and talk show hosts across the country have called the NCAA college basketball tournament the best weeks of the year. What other event, they ask, causes even the non sports fan to test his luck at filling out a bracket and throwing $20 into a pool? Overweight, washed-up Joes at water coolers everywhere become college basketball experts once March rolls around. Never mind the fact that these people can’t even tell you what a field goal is or which teams won last year. The tournament is no respecter of persons, though; every once in awhile it rewards the know-nothings who pick a number 10 seed (Davidson) to make it to the Elite Eight.
But if you placed seventh in the pool because someone’s 60 year old aunt picked Davidson to be the Cinderella this year simply because her son’s best friend is named Jonathan who was the best friend of David in the Bible, you still have less cause to be upset than the other 92% of us.
Why?
Because in all likelihood, many of us didn’t even get to see the best part of the tournament. In a brilliant move by the NCAA, games on Thursday and Friday of opening weekend start in the early afternoon. Thus, anyone with a job or who is in school is prevented from experiencing the “best weekend in sports.” As it was so graciously put to me by a co-worker, “Seidl, anyone who has a life can’t watch these games.”
Now some may argue, “Well it’s only the first two days of the tournament; surely nothing important happens then.” On the contrary.
This year alone, the first two days of the tournament were some of the most exciting. For example, Villanova (a 12 seed) beat Clemson (a 5 seed), San Diego (13) beat Connecticut (4), Kansas St. (11) beat USC (6), and Western Kentucky (12) beat Drake (5) with a last second three point basket. But those who were working hard to boost the economy or who were gaining intellectual capital lost out on the excitement. In fact, the ones rewarded with the games were not even happy—the couch potatoes had to give up their regularly scheduled soap operas to watch sweaty guys running around bouncing a dead pig. Hardly as riveting as watching some woman in a fictitious town scheming a way to get her son back from her evil mother who killed her father to hide the true identity of her bed-ridden brother.
The solution to the problem is easy: add an extra day (i.e. play games on Wednesday too), putting all the games at night and giving fans an opportunity to be, well, fans. That way, everyone would cool down and be given a chance to be a part of the madness.
I would like to acknowledge the help of Joe Sumrall and Jane Anderson regarding the fleshing out of this idea.
But if you placed seventh in the pool because someone’s 60 year old aunt picked Davidson to be the Cinderella this year simply because her son’s best friend is named Jonathan who was the best friend of David in the Bible, you still have less cause to be upset than the other 92% of us.
Why?
Because in all likelihood, many of us didn’t even get to see the best part of the tournament. In a brilliant move by the NCAA, games on Thursday and Friday of opening weekend start in the early afternoon. Thus, anyone with a job or who is in school is prevented from experiencing the “best weekend in sports.” As it was so graciously put to me by a co-worker, “Seidl, anyone who has a life can’t watch these games.”
Now some may argue, “Well it’s only the first two days of the tournament; surely nothing important happens then.” On the contrary.
This year alone, the first two days of the tournament were some of the most exciting. For example, Villanova (a 12 seed) beat Clemson (a 5 seed), San Diego (13) beat Connecticut (4), Kansas St. (11) beat USC (6), and Western Kentucky (12) beat Drake (5) with a last second three point basket. But those who were working hard to boost the economy or who were gaining intellectual capital lost out on the excitement. In fact, the ones rewarded with the games were not even happy—the couch potatoes had to give up their regularly scheduled soap operas to watch sweaty guys running around bouncing a dead pig. Hardly as riveting as watching some woman in a fictitious town scheming a way to get her son back from her evil mother who killed her father to hide the true identity of her bed-ridden brother.
The solution to the problem is easy: add an extra day (i.e. play games on Wednesday too), putting all the games at night and giving fans an opportunity to be, well, fans. That way, everyone would cool down and be given a chance to be a part of the madness.
I would like to acknowledge the help of Joe Sumrall and Jane Anderson regarding the fleshing out of this idea.
