The crazed popularity of March Madness
By George Pritchard ‘23
2022 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. Photo via CBS Sports
As the calendar flips to March, birds begin chirping, flowers start blooming, and spring commences. However, along with the changing of the season, March is also home to arguably the most entertaining sporting event in the country: March Madness.
Every year, 68 of the best NCAA Division 1 college basketball teams enter the March Madness tournament. The field of 68, which is created by both automatic qualifiers and at-large bids, is whittled down to just one after four weeks of competition.
March Madness is known for many things, from buzzer-beaters to Cinderella teams, but the most iconic and important part of March Madness is undoubtedly filling out a bracket.
It is estimated that over 70 million brackets are filled out each year across many different online platforms and on paper. Despite the college basketball regular season not being a widely-watched phenomenon, virtually every sports fan and non-sports fan fill out a bracket.
Catlin Gabel School (CGS) junior Harrison Bell has done a bracket competition with his friends for the past few years.
“By participating in a fun group activity like the March Madness bracket tournament, I can have fun with my friends by watching games, competing against them, and discussing matters that we disagree on. There is often a prize at the end, but as Tim Whittle [CGS Boys Varsity Basketball Coach] says, it’s about the journey, not the destination,” said Bell.
Prizes at the end of bracket competitions are not rare, as it’s estimated over three billion dollars will be bet on the men’s tournament this year, making it the most bet on sporting events of the year.
But what makes this month-long tournament so popular? How does a tournament consisting of amateur athletes pull in more ratings than its professional counterpart? The answer lies within the construction of the tournament itself.
The number of games
One of the keys to the popularity of March Madness is the frequency of the games. The tournament manages to play 67 games in just over four weeks. Additionally, the first 48 games of the tournament are played over just a 4-day stretch, with often 3+ games going at once. The fact that there is basketball on TV from dawn to dusk creates non-stop excitement for the games.
Single Elimination
Unlike the NBA playoffs, which consists of best-of-seven series for each round, or the World Cup, which begins with group play before the elimination round, the March Madness tournament gets right into single elimination. One bad game for a team can end their season instantly, and there’s no chance for redemption.
Cinderella Stories
Everyone loves a good underdog, right? The NCAA tournament certainly does. From 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago making it to the Final Four in 2018 to 8th-seeded Villanova winning the national championship in 1985, the history of March Madness is littered with shocking wins from little-known teams. And while these teams may ruin brackets, they are sure fun to root for once they have.
Emotional Investment
March Madness brings out a wide spectrum of emotions, whether it’s the sadness of seeing your favorite collegiate player in their final game, rage after your bracket is busted because of an upset on the first day, or elation when your favorite team hits a buzzer-beater to advance. But seeing the team you chose to win the championship stave off elimination game after game is a wildly satisfying feeling and is one that is very difficult to replicate.