Some people wait all year to sit down for 5 hours and watch the Super Bowl, along with it's often times over-hyped slate of humorous commercials and ads. Others can’t wait for the holiday season, from Thanksgiving dinner to Mariah Carey’s rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You”. Not for me, though; I wait for March Madness, the best two weeks of the year. It’s the perfect end to the best sport in America, college basketball.
Don’t get me wrong, professional sports are a huge piece of American culture. The NBA is great, offering Kevin Durant, super teams, and lackluster defense. And of course, there’s the MLB, carrying it's nearly 200 4-hour long games along with it. Then there’s the NFL, which can be summed up in two words: concussions and Roger Goodell. And yeah there's the NHL and MLS, but I’d rather not say something to offend their already dismal followings. College football is cool too, but it’s set back by its strange bowl system, and even stranger 4-team playoff that s always going to bring controversy. So what does that leave us with? Ah yes, college basketball, or should I say, the Holy Grail of sports.
The truth of the matter is that college basketball seems to give everyone the feels, whether that be the crazed booster at Kentucky who sits courtside at every game, even if it’s against Eastern Texas State A&M or the fan like myself who just loves to watch it. You see, college basketball fans are second to none. The atmosphere that college basketball fans bring is unparalleled, from Duke’s “Cameron Crazies” to Taylor University’s “Silent Night Game”. You won’t find a more passionate following anywhere else. But it’s not the fans that make college basketball great, it’s the players.
These kids aren’t famous, they’re not getting paid millions of dollars, and most of the time they’re just 18 and 19 years old. They’re classmates, friends, and a gifted group of student-athletes that captivate an entire nation from November to March. They’re not playing for rings or endorsements, they’re playing for their coach, their teammates, their school, and most importantly, the love for the game of basketball. At the end of the day, college basketball IS the best brand of basketball, from D1 to JUCO, and it’s the best sport to watch, period.
So come March, turn on your TV. Listen to the commentary from Jay Bilas and Dicky Vitale and watch the Cameron Crazies harass the defenseless UNC player as he tries to inbound the ball. Actually no, buy a ticket and go see a tournament game first hand. Go watch a bunch of 19-year-old kids play their hearts out, you won’t regret it. Take part in the ridiculous chants, try to hear what the coach is yelling to the Freshman he just yanked from the game for botching yet another layup, and take in the greatest atmosphere in sports.
