March Madness is the college basketball tournament held by the NCAA. 64 teams are separated into 4 divisions. Each division is seeded by one through sixteen. Each seed is pitted up against the other in an elimination tournament. Out of the four divisions, only one team from each division will remain. The four remaining teams will battle it out in another tournament to determine who wins the championship trophy.

This is an exciting time for many parties. The players love this time of year. Everything they’ve worked for, every moment they spent grinding was to achieve this moment where they could duke it out with the other teams and prove their superiority. Coaches work overtime, day and night, to come up with offensive schemes and defenses that will yield them the best result. This is a highly competitive environment and it’s also good for the player’s exposure. Professional leagues, and the top athletes from said leagues, watch these players. They pay attention to the players that ramp up their play when the light shines the brightest. This is easily a player’s ticket into the NBA or other professional leagues.

Another party that enjoys this time of year is college basketball fans. I am, admittedly, more of an NBA fan. I personally enjoy watching the professionals play more (i.e. Luka Doncic). However, for many, March Madness is a great time to get together with friends and family to root for their favorite teams to win. My friend, Timothy, has stated numerous times that March Madness is so fun because it’s unpredictable. In the tournament, it is one game. If you lose once, you’re out. Theoretically, that should mean the first seed should win their division every time, BUT it is commonly known by any basketball fan that “anything could happen.” Many times there is an upset against a heavily favored team by a team that isn’t seen as good by many people. In fact, there have been multiple upsets in this year’s tournament. Gonzaga was the number one seed that was eliminated before the elite 8! These upsets make this time exciting for the fans to watch. They put the “madness” in March Madness.

Although it is fun to watch, it’s even more fun to play alongside the players. Many fans make tournament brackets predicting how the tournament will play out. It’s a tradition to build up your bracket and see how the unpredictable nature of this tournament completely tears it to shreds. Some may do it for fun, others do it to enter into sweepstakes where they could win big! I did my bracket with my friends, but instead of a prize for winning, we have a punishment for losing. It’s not going too well….

That’s what I get for using a coin toss to decide my bracket.