The Engine that Drives March Madness
by Rob King
As winter retreats and spring pushes forward much of the country will be swept up by an influx of “March Madness.” This annual rite of spring permeates college campuses, places of employment, sports bars, school yards, and homes in affluent, middle class and walking poor neighborhoods all across the country. Victims of this “madness” usually arm themselves with brackets and join communities most often referred to as “pools”.
In big cities, small towns and rural hamlets groups of young men named after Native American tribes, patriots, ferocious animals and birds of prey- buoyed by coaches, administrators, boosters, band and the all important mascot - travel by bus, train or plane to invade arenas far and near accompanied by throngs of fans and supporters. Millions more will follow via television, radio, newspapers and internet.
It seems like the NCAA tournament has been referred to as March Madness forever. Nationally, March Madness is actually a recent phenomenon. March Madness was the name of a high school basketball tournament sponsored by the Illinois High School Association in 1908 and remained a regional phrase until former Chicago sportswriter Brent Musburger began using it while broadcasting tournament games nationally for CBS in 1982.
The NCAA Division I basketball tournament or the “Big Dance” as it is often referred to is of the last remaining authentic events that’s not overrated. Whether one is following their alma mater, schools in their state, hometown hero, redemption story or bracket buster, there is something of interest woven into the fabric of the tournament that appeals to people of diverse backgrounds and interests.
The tournament is reality television in its essence. There is a script that each game follows but only fate controls how it’s played out. The players, coaches and officials involved in the games and the spectators watching in the stands or on TV all ride an emotional roller-coaster from first whistle to final buzzer.
Upsets happen all the time in the tournament especially in the early rounds. A school from a power conference unhappy with their seeding or coach from a school feeling the pressure of fans and alumni catch an upstart program with something to prove or nothing to lose, and someone’s going home early. In many cases we know who’s going to win but there’s that “anything can happen” element that keeps games compelling. Someone twists an ankle, someone gets their third foul or someone is in the zone; and that overwhelming underdog smells an upset.
However the NCAA tournament is one Big Dance where Cinderella may even electric slide past the first weekend, but it won’t hustle beyond the second weekend and it definitely won’t rock away home with the title. The NCAA basketball tournament is a battle where only the schools from the strong conferences survive. Remember – Cinderella champions North Carolina State (ACC) in 1983, Villanova (Big East) in 1985 and Kansas (Big 8) in 1988 – all came from power conferences. Kansas and Villanova beat conference foes to secure titles, further diluting the Cinderella aspects of their championship runs. N.C. State hails from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The winner of the 2005 NCAA Division I basketball championship will come from either the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big Twelve (formerly the Big Eight and Southwest), Pacific Ten or Southeastern Conference. I can say this with the same confidence that George Bush said he would win Florida during the 2000 election. Since 1966 when Don Haskin’s Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso) – starting five Black players beat known racist or “man of his times” Adolph Rupp’s all white Kentucky team – only three teams outside the power conferences have won titles. Marquette in 1977, Louisville in 1980 & 86, and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1990 are the only three schools to wrest control of the Division I basketball championship from the big boys.
Texas Western’s seminal 1966 victory on the court impacted integration as much legislation did in the courts. Remember the Supreme Court ordered schools in the South integrated in 1954 “with all deliberate speed” and officials at southern universities certainly took their sweet time executing the court’s wishes. That 1966 victory helped speed up the process. Blacks who weren’t wanted in institutions in the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences were now needed by those schools to compete in sports against schools in other regions of the country already enrolling Black students. Obviously sports weren’t the primary reason schools in the south opened their doors to black students but those jump shots raining down on white supremacy definitely merit an assist. This opened up opportunities for Black students who didn’t possess athletic prowess as well. There’s nothing like time and the nation’s lack of interest in history to hide the sins of the past. We can explore sports and race in future articles.
The NCAA Division I college basketball tournament or March Madness is one of few remaining events that lives up to the hype. Many thought the exodus of the top prep stars bypassing college for the National Basketball Association would adversely impact the college game. Those who forecasted the demise of the college game underestimated that that college basketball is not star driven. The student athlete is the engine that makes the car drive. They arrive in late August for the start of the fall semester to start pre-season training and classes. Workouts can begin at most schools as early as 6 or 7 AM. Following workouts the student athlete goes to classes but may have to return for strength training, conditioning and scrimmaging. Once the regular season starts, student athletes may have three-hour practices plus strength training, in addition to classes during the week. At many campuses they love the student athlete on game-day and during tourney-time, but students and sometimes faculty can treat them like they’re not real students or they’re there on a free ride. College basketball is the cash cow at many of the 318 Division I schools that have sports programs, so their free ride is paid for handsomely by their labor.
The tournament offers something for casual fans, as well as the hoops junkie and all points in between. Oh some stars will definitely emerge on this stage. ESPN and CBS will cover them and newspapers will write about them because that’s part of the script. During the next three weeks CBS will bombard viewers with distant replays of the tournament heroics of players such as Fennis Dembo of Wyoming, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Billy Donovan of Providence, Christian Laettner of Duke and one of my favorites, Michael Graham of Georgetown. These are a few of the stars who have shined brightly on the tournament stage only to fizzle and crash into the world of irrelevance. When freshmen do great things they will hearken back to images of Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison of Louisville and most recently Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse.
Speculation will run rampant about a hot young coach who will parlay the success of his mid major team to membership in a power conference. Trent Johnson went from Nevada to Stanford last year and several other coaches upgraded as well. More coaches will join the carousel this year. People will tune in to see how a hometown product fares. George Washington University’s Carl Elliot from Brooklyn and the Boys’ Club of New York is one of the local guys I will follow. Following the road to the Final Four may remind some of their days on the court when they hit the game-winning shot, froze under pressure, or just handed out high fives, towels and gatorade. Seeing the games and the gratuitous shots of fine coeds will remind some of their days on campus, while motivating others to consider the college experience. There are millions of reasons to watch and that's why millions will watch the Big Dance.
As winter retreats and spring pushes forward much of the country will be swept up by an influx of “March Madness.” This annual rite of spring permeates college campuses, places of employment, sports bars, school yards, and homes in affluent, middle class and walking poor neighborhoods all across the country. Victims of this “madness” usually arm themselves with brackets and join communities most often referred to as “pools”.
In big cities, small towns and rural hamlets groups of young men named after Native American tribes, patriots, ferocious animals and birds of prey- buoyed by coaches, administrators, boosters, band and the all important mascot - travel by bus, train or plane to invade arenas far and near accompanied by throngs of fans and supporters. Millions more will follow via television, radio, newspapers and internet.
It seems like the NCAA tournament has been referred to as March Madness forever. Nationally, March Madness is actually a recent phenomenon. March Madness was the name of a high school basketball tournament sponsored by the Illinois High School Association in 1908 and remained a regional phrase until former Chicago sportswriter Brent Musburger began using it while broadcasting tournament games nationally for CBS in 1982.
The NCAA Division I basketball tournament or the “Big Dance” as it is often referred to is of the last remaining authentic events that’s not overrated. Whether one is following their alma mater, schools in their state, hometown hero, redemption story or bracket buster, there is something of interest woven into the fabric of the tournament that appeals to people of diverse backgrounds and interests.
The tournament is reality television in its essence. There is a script that each game follows but only fate controls how it’s played out. The players, coaches and officials involved in the games and the spectators watching in the stands or on TV all ride an emotional roller-coaster from first whistle to final buzzer.
Upsets happen all the time in the tournament especially in the early rounds. A school from a power conference unhappy with their seeding or coach from a school feeling the pressure of fans and alumni catch an upstart program with something to prove or nothing to lose, and someone’s going home early. In many cases we know who’s going to win but there’s that “anything can happen” element that keeps games compelling. Someone twists an ankle, someone gets their third foul or someone is in the zone; and that overwhelming underdog smells an upset.
However the NCAA tournament is one Big Dance where Cinderella may even electric slide past the first weekend, but it won’t hustle beyond the second weekend and it definitely won’t rock away home with the title. The NCAA basketball tournament is a battle where only the schools from the strong conferences survive. Remember – Cinderella champions North Carolina State (ACC) in 1983, Villanova (Big East) in 1985 and Kansas (Big 8) in 1988 – all came from power conferences. Kansas and Villanova beat conference foes to secure titles, further diluting the Cinderella aspects of their championship runs. N.C. State hails from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The winner of the 2005 NCAA Division I basketball championship will come from either the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big Twelve (formerly the Big Eight and Southwest), Pacific Ten or Southeastern Conference. I can say this with the same confidence that George Bush said he would win Florida during the 2000 election. Since 1966 when Don Haskin’s Texas Western University (now the University of Texas at El Paso) – starting five Black players beat known racist or “man of his times” Adolph Rupp’s all white Kentucky team – only three teams outside the power conferences have won titles. Marquette in 1977, Louisville in 1980 & 86, and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 1990 are the only three schools to wrest control of the Division I basketball championship from the big boys.
Texas Western’s seminal 1966 victory on the court impacted integration as much legislation did in the courts. Remember the Supreme Court ordered schools in the South integrated in 1954 “with all deliberate speed” and officials at southern universities certainly took their sweet time executing the court’s wishes. That 1966 victory helped speed up the process. Blacks who weren’t wanted in institutions in the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern conferences were now needed by those schools to compete in sports against schools in other regions of the country already enrolling Black students. Obviously sports weren’t the primary reason schools in the south opened their doors to black students but those jump shots raining down on white supremacy definitely merit an assist. This opened up opportunities for Black students who didn’t possess athletic prowess as well. There’s nothing like time and the nation’s lack of interest in history to hide the sins of the past. We can explore sports and race in future articles.
The NCAA Division I college basketball tournament or March Madness is one of few remaining events that lives up to the hype. Many thought the exodus of the top prep stars bypassing college for the National Basketball Association would adversely impact the college game. Those who forecasted the demise of the college game underestimated that that college basketball is not star driven. The student athlete is the engine that makes the car drive. They arrive in late August for the start of the fall semester to start pre-season training and classes. Workouts can begin at most schools as early as 6 or 7 AM. Following workouts the student athlete goes to classes but may have to return for strength training, conditioning and scrimmaging. Once the regular season starts, student athletes may have three-hour practices plus strength training, in addition to classes during the week. At many campuses they love the student athlete on game-day and during tourney-time, but students and sometimes faculty can treat them like they’re not real students or they’re there on a free ride. College basketball is the cash cow at many of the 318 Division I schools that have sports programs, so their free ride is paid for handsomely by their labor.
The tournament offers something for casual fans, as well as the hoops junkie and all points in between. Oh some stars will definitely emerge on this stage. ESPN and CBS will cover them and newspapers will write about them because that’s part of the script. During the next three weeks CBS will bombard viewers with distant replays of the tournament heroics of players such as Fennis Dembo of Wyoming, Bryce Drew of Valparaiso, Billy Donovan of Providence, Christian Laettner of Duke and one of my favorites, Michael Graham of Georgetown. These are a few of the stars who have shined brightly on the tournament stage only to fizzle and crash into the world of irrelevance. When freshmen do great things they will hearken back to images of Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison of Louisville and most recently Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse.
Speculation will run rampant about a hot young coach who will parlay the success of his mid major team to membership in a power conference. Trent Johnson went from Nevada to Stanford last year and several other coaches upgraded as well. More coaches will join the carousel this year. People will tune in to see how a hometown product fares. George Washington University’s Carl Elliot from Brooklyn and the Boys’ Club of New York is one of the local guys I will follow. Following the road to the Final Four may remind some of their days on the court when they hit the game-winning shot, froze under pressure, or just handed out high fives, towels and gatorade. Seeing the games and the gratuitous shots of fine coeds will remind some of their days on campus, while motivating others to consider the college experience. There are millions of reasons to watch and that's why millions will watch the Big Dance.
posted by Guichard Cadet @ 2:56 PM
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