The backdrop of the NCAA tournament holds countless memories within the courts' floorboards. It's impossible to forget Bryce Drew throwing up a three for Valparaiso University to beat Ole Miss in the waning seconds of the game. Christian Laettner's turnaround jumper that beat Kentucky superseded everything he did in the NBA. And the images of Lorenzo Charles' dunk on the last play of the game still resonate on highlight reals across the airwaves.
March Madness is the only weekend in sports when fans and talking heads alike are half expecting to be stunned. Every year there are upsets that readjust the landscape of the tournament. Rams can clip the wings of Jawhawks, spiders can crush oranges, and patriots can shoot down huskies. No school is safe from being upset by any stretch of the imagination.
Because of the parody, the quest to make the perfect bracket floods the water cooler talk at the office. Some brackets are made based on countless hours of meticulous statistical analysis. Other brackets are birthed by spontaneous selections based on which teams have the best uniform colors. And others still are crafted in the image of an alum's best run at the title. Yet in a matter of moments, tournament brackets that are so meticulously formulated can become kindling within the first few hours of games.
Yet broken bracketology and the parody of the field is what makes the madness so beautiful.
Every professional sport has the six or seven teams that are legitimate championship contenders, while the rest falter in their own mediocrity. In the pros, the gulfs in talents between the best and the worst teams become apparent in their play. The NCAA tournament provides more parody in its playoff than every other sport combined.
The 1991 Richmond Spiders are a perfect case study of parody in the playoff. The spiders were a 15 seed when they were matched up against the 2 seeded Syracuse Orange. No 15 seed had ever beaten a 2 in the illustrious history of the tournament. The mere idea that a powerhouse team anchored by Billy Owens would loose to a Richmond team with no star power was inconceivable. Yet the spiders scored first and never trailed that day. For the first time in the history of the sport, a 15 beat a 2. After that first domino fell in 1991, three 15 seeds have beaten 2 seeds since.
The parody is just a part of the game. But what truly draws in fans are the stories that the athletes have to tell.
This year one of the most prominent tourney story lines is the tale of Peyton Siva of Louisville. Siva's father, sister, and brother have all done time in jail, and Siva had to talk his father out of taking his own life as a 13 year old boy. And many of the athletes like Siva have their own adversities that lead them to become feel good tournament stories.
The perfect part about March Madness is the imperfections of kids playing the game. Many of the student athletes are going pro in something other than sports. So students who are flawed in their games are most likely worried about their other school responsibilities. It is unrealistic to expect perfection out of 19-22 year old students playing sports.
At the same time, the emotions of the college game are the lifeblood of the sports' excitement, purity, and wonder. During the dramatic moments, students on the bench lock arms in hope for victory. And the same kids huddle together, and hold each other up in defeat. For young athletes, especially college basketball, the sport is still a game. And it is that childhood purity and honest emotion that draws in viewers.
Even after an excruciating loss to a hated rival, or a blowout loss, or an improbable upset there is still perspective in the madness. College basketball players line up to shake hands after tournament games. A gesture that not only shows incredible class, but a gesture that reflects on what fans, players, and analysts alike want our sports to be: games that everyone loves to watch.
