March Madness(cont)

“What happened to my bracket” this is what everyone is saying this time of year when March Madness comes to a close. Arguable the best and most watched sporting event in the United States. March madness is like a national holiday that last about three weeks.
It provides a field of 64 teams all fighting to reach the final four and with a little luck win a national championship. Now we are down to the final four in this year’s tournament. North Carolina and Connecticut are the favorites, with Villanova and Michigan State all fighting to prove otherwise. This field of four is sure not to disappoint. March Madness has provided us with many buzzer beater shots like Christian Laettner shot to propell Duke over Kentucky. It has sparked careers of superstars and legends like Michael Jordan, and it has given us cynderella stories like Davidson of last year. What will be the story this year? So far the stories have been about the lack of upsets and the higher seeds like North Carolina and Connecticut dominating the tournament.
It seems like everybody is in on the action nation wide. Las Vegas gambling executives say that March madness is arguable the biggest gambling event in Las Vegas. No other sporting event comes close in gambling revenue other then the super bowl. Its not just Vegas were all the betting is going on. Offices from all over the country have made their picks on the march madness action also. March madness is famous for the office pools. However the tournament doesn’t stop with Las Vegas or the office pools. People from all over then country take their picks and bet in small groups, with close friends, family, or working peers. Some may even just play for the fun of it, just for the thrill, and love of the event. President Obama is even in on the action telling ESPN that “he is a big fan.” President Obama picked North Carolina to win it all telling ESPNs Andy Krattz that, “I'm going with experience.” Also saying that, “I'm counting on you” referring to North Carolina. President Obama isn’t the only high profile name who had made their tournament picks. Jamal Lewis of the Cleveland Browns has his own March madness tournament with other high profile Cleveland athletes like Mo Williams, Daniel Gibson, and Grady Seizmore all taking part. The tournament brackets have even hit the rap world, with Fabolous, Bow Wow, and Capone-N-Noreaga all being reported on having betting pools with other rappers and friends.
Filling out a tournament bracket, and seeing how good your doing during and after the tournament is a huge thrill to sports fans. “It makes you feel like your actually part of the tournament, it adds to the excited to fill out a bracket” said Bryant Leapart a South Carolina native who is rooting for the Tar Heels. Like President Obama he’s not the only one pulling for North Carolina, Brandon Walton another North Carolina fan said, “It’s one of my favorite times of year, I’m a big sports fan and this the super bowl and the NBA finals are my favorite sporting events. The thing I like about the NCAA tournament is that is last so long.” They all agree that this year their picks that they’ve made havent been as successful as last year. Alex Coleman said, “ I like it because of all the good basketball games, and plus basketball is my favorite sport. This year has been good, I’m interested to see who’s going to win.” It’s not just men taking part of this event even women love the tournament Jackie Lewis said that, “Im so excited about the tournament, I get even more excited when I fill out my bracket. However I only have one team left in the final four, which is North Carolina” The four people I interviewed may not know eachother but they all have something in common. All of them had a tournament bracket filled out.
Not only is it all the betting, its just the thrill, and the tradition that makes this tournament so special. March Madness is almost over, but one things for sure a lot of americans are still holding on to their brackets tight, even if they have a whole lot of red ex marks over teams and games.