March Madness 2017: Stay Glued to Your TV

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Nithin Reddy, Web Editor

The next four days of the NCAA Tournament are the best four days of the year for American sports.  It brings out everything that we love in sports.  In these next four days heroes are made and giants fall.  While everyone loves the intensity of the Final Four, it always features the best of the best.  With the first two rounds, the David’s of the tournament have the ability to take down a Goliath and capture a nation.

Photo by USA Today
Chase Fielder and Florida Gulf Coast went on a run to the sweet 16 that was never before seen by a 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

No one can predict who will win, and that is the beauty of the tournament.  This randomness keeps us on our edge for every single game.  No one predicted that in 2013 a 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast would be able to beat the giants in Georgetown, who had that year’s number 3 overall pick in the NBA Draft in Otto Porter on their team.  However, the pulled it off by playing a brand of selfless and fearless basketball rarely seen.  Its these stories that make the tournament so unpredictably beautiful.  

The first two rounds are also helped by America’s love for filling out brackets.  No matter if you’ve watched every game in college basketball, or have no idea what Duke University is everyone loves filling out a bracket.  There’s this idea of “what if I could create a perfect bracket” that entrances those who make one.  While most brackets don’t last within the first few hours of the tournament, everyone still wants to have the best bracket even if it’s within five of your friends.  In reality, no one will probably fill out a perfect bracket, and that’s okay.  The odds of filling out a perfect bracket is 1 in  9,223,372,036,854,775,808, not the best chances you can think of (according to Sports Illustrated).  

Photo by New York Times
VCU changed the way double digit seeds are looked at when they went to the Final Four in 2011.

Even though your bracket will probably fail, don’t let it stop you from watching these games.  March Madness is considered one of the most purest forms of basketball.  This single elimination tournament isn’t just a game between two teams, it’s a battle between 5 men from each team diving for every loose ball, sacrificing their body to take charges, and willing to do anything to keep the dream alive.  Teams can pull this off for one or two games, but in the end talent ends up catching up to them.  This is why these first few days are as important to watch as any.  Over the last five years, the 5-12 matchup that’s supposed to be lopsided, has shown a 10-10 record.  So just remember to expect the unexpected.