Sports

When March Madness Gets Maddening

By March 19, 2013June 18th, 2018No Comments
notre-dame-jerseys

notre-dame-jerseysNo, you are not wrong to be excited for March Madness that is mere hours away from commencing. However, too often I’ve been let down by events or experiences that were built up and came with extremely high expectations. All we’ve heard this college basketball season is how unpredictable, loony and highly entertaining this NCAA Tournament is going to be.

If I’ve learned anything in my short, and relatively noteworthy-less time on the third rock, it’s that sometimes the best experiences happen when paired with low expectations or no expectations at all. In what we’ll consider a public service, let us bring all of you down to a tolerable level of expectation. A blip on the excitement radar. Here are a few reasons why we’re already annoyed with this tourney.

  1. The jerseys: In this age of each university Oregon-izing its uniforms it can, at times, be difficult to figure out who is playing. Teams with traditional colors ditch them for something gaudy and offensive (see: Notre Dame). As a college basketball purist, it pisses me off. Not to mention the teams that took to fancy alternate uniforms this year with the mascot name on the back. Why? Just why?
  2. Too many upsets can equal a crummy Final Four: Outside of the amazing Butler run in 2010 that damn near ended with the ultimate upset, almost every other major upset team to reach a Final Four has been dismissed with relative ease. While the upsets make for a fascinating opening weekend and sweet sixteen rounds, we’re deprived of classic matchups of legendary programs if the Cinderellas get too far. Yes, George Mason, we’re looking at you.
  3. When work gets in the way of optimal tourney viewing: While being gainfully employed is the goal of most in our society, it really dampens the enjoyment of the first (I will never call them second round games) round games on Thursday and Friday. Smart chaps take these days off of work, but for those who cannot, they are forced to put on a happy face and pretend to be working, all while cursing the heavens when that random team from the northeast knocks off the BCS conference power you had on a crash course to the Final Four.
  4. Too many games, too few TVs: You pathetic mope – only one TV in your apartment? Good luck keeping tabs on four games at once. It’s inevitable – you WILL miss that half-court heave at the buzzer. That’s just the way it is (RIP, Tupac).

Now, how do you feel about the Tournament? You should still be excited, but you too should find frustration in all that makes March Madness a pain in the ars. Here’s to being pleasantly surprised.

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