Help me!

[Yitzy]

So, for my journalism class, I'm doing an assignment on what the appeal of March Madness is, because I quite frankly, don't really get it.

I realized that none of my friends actually watch March Madness, so I'm turning to the interwebs.

Simply, if you watch March Madness, why do you like it? What's the appeal of it over pro sports? Do you do all the stuff with the brackets? Why?

And if you're like me and don't watch it, you can say why too.

This isn't going to be printed anywhere, so don't worry about that. But if you wouldn't mind putting your full name, that'd be great. I'm pretty sure my teacher wouldn't approve of having "Pornomaniac666" as one of my sources.

Thanks!

[CQI13]

I believe proper interviews can be cited as a source, I don't think comments from a forum can be cited though. What this could help you with is perhaps give you options as to what you want to discuss as the appeal of March Madness (the body of the paper). With that in mind, let me give you my input:

I don't follow it as much as I used to when I was in school, mainly because I don't hang out with people who follow it as much either. I follow it purely from a statistical point of view. That is to say, I enjoy seeing how the teams perform against their statistical expectations. For example, a sixteen seed has never beaten a #1 seed in the first round, but you may ocassionally see one play them tough. Or teams that travel two or more time zones to play their first round game don't fare as well as those playing closer to home. Yes, I'm a geek.

I do use the brackets, to compare what should have happened to what actually happened. In fact, even if only placing a friendly wager with someone using the brackets can foster interest in what many would consider a meaningless game (think of it as what fantasy football has done for the NFL).

Part of my lack of interest is the fact that most of these kids are one and done when it comes to college basketball. You hardly ever get to see them develop. Long gone are the days players sticking around 3-4 years (for the most part).

I would say the overall appeal of it lies in the fact that anything can happen, since it's single elimination. Who could have seen Duke losing in the first round last year (to Virginia Commonwealth, was it?). So there is a fair amount of drama involved. Or maybe you like to see one of the small schools go toe to toe with the big programs (the media and the fans are suckers for Cinderella stories -- i.e. George Mason last year, Gonzaga for a few years prior to that).

Hope this helps as a starting point. If you need any more opinions or info, send me a PM.

Jorge Mayorga

[Yitzy]

Whoa. Thank you very, very much.

I posted it at another forum, and I just got a lot of joke replies, and thought about switching subjects.

And this isn't really a formal paper per say, we just have to write up something in journalistic style.

I still might switch topics, not sure yet but I really appreciate your help.

[Hajjhowe]

I am in the enjoying crowd.

For me the biggest appeal is the unpredictability. It's what makes doing bracket's fun (Because it gives a lot of people chances with upsets) and it's just a joy to watch. The kids there are playing their heart's out (Especially those on the cusp of possible drafting or those who know they will likely never play basketball again) and there is nothing more satisfying to watch than a big budget high end school like Duke getting upset by a smaller gritty program like VCU. I'd say my biggest appeal is the anything can happen feeling since the talent level has increased to the point where anything CAN happen.

[Magus978]

For me, it's also about the upsets. I call it the Larranaga effect (Jim Larranaga coached George Mason to the Final Four in 2006). Even with all the huge favorites, there is ALWAYS a mid-major or a low-major that catches the attention of the nation, and seemingly for the duration of the tournament, becomes America's Team. I also love the fact that the tournament has become so accessible, with all the games being online now via March Madness on Demand. That way, if we have a vested interest in one game, but that game is not on TV, you can hop online and watch.

It's the greatest two weeks in sports, IMO. I enjoy being able to watch 15-30 games each tournament year. If you need more reasons as to why I feel that this is the ultimate basketball experience, you know where to find me

[sahyder1]

Single elimination tournament.....upsets......pools......upsets.

There is always that Cinderella team that you just don't see coming.

[livid]

I think the most appealing factor of March Madness is the fact that nothing else is really happening, sports-wise this time of the year. Yeah, there's Spring Training in baseball and of course, the NBA season is still going, but other than that there really isn't anything. So with that, people will be more apt to watch it since nothing else (other than really the NBA) is on national tv at this point.

Not to mention, like others have said, that each year there seems to be a team that, nobody expected to do anything, comes out and "shocks" the world and ends up beating a few teams to make it far in the tournament. Whereas in pro basketball, the teams the are expected to win usually do win. So that's also why I think some prefer college basketball to pro basketball. Also most people view the college game as more wholesome and less flashy so that may be another reason why so many choose it over the pros.

All of that being said, I also think that part of it's popularity comes from the fact that I think it's one of, if not the, easiest form of sports gambling there is. I'd say that the unpredictability leads to this.

Also I think that because the field is so large and there's so many games, that since nothing sports-related is on TV this time of year, people will, again, be more apt to tuning in.

And to be honest, as much as I love March Madness, I will admit that this year's pro game interests me more so my interest in March Madness is down more than usual but I'll still be glued to the TV throughout.

Kyle Russell

Hope that helps.

[Yitzy]

Thanks guys. I just finished my paper, I think it came out well.

Much appreciated for the help!

[CQI13]

Any chance we might be able to see this paper? I'd be interested to see how it came out.