Oh the madness
The intensity soared, and the seconds ticked away on the shot clock. Darryl Patteson and his friends sat on the edge of their seats anticipating a dramatic overtime win – as they watched two obscure basketball teams (Western Kentucky and Drake) battle it out thousands of miles away (Tampa, Fla.) from Patteson’s couch..
Patteson and company were at Syracuse University feeling the excitement as Western Kentucky’s Ty Rogers hit the buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Drake in overtime Friday night, 101-99.
‘We didn’t move from the TV,’ said Patteson, president of SU sports fan club Otto’s Army. ‘My friends and I really watched way too much college basketball this weekend, but it’s so hard to pull away. We had no vested interest in Drake versus Western Kentucky obviously, but were still glued to the TV.’
The thrills, the upsets, the nonstop anxiety, the luck, the Cinderellas, the action, the win-or-go home stakes, the fadeaway jumper at the last second as time expires on the shot clock.
Sound familiar? It’s Tourney time.
The passion and obsession shown by Patteson and his friends was shared by many SU college basketball fans as March Madness began Thursday. The Men’s NCAA Tournament, which will crown its champion on April 7, started last week with 64 teams.
After one weekend, all that remains is 16 teams and some agitated fans who find their brackets already devastated by upsets thanks to underdogs like Western Kentucky and Davidson.
‘March Madness is great,’ Patteson said. ‘Every game in the tournament boils down what sports fan love so much about watching the sport, the drama and the excitement. Everyone gets to show off their basketball fan IQ.’
Bracket pools can be put together on Web sites ranging form ESPN.com to Facebook, and studies show the Tournament costs employers $1.7 billion in productivity during the 16 work days the games take place.
According to Scrippsnews.com, a record $545 million will be spent during the March Madness on advertising, and NCAA basketball has become the No. 2 postseason sporting event in terms of revenue, only behind the NFL.
‘It’s so popular basically because the mass media understood it had a real selling point,’ said William Pooler, a professor who teaches a sociology of sports class at SU. ‘If you look on the television now as the games are being played they are all over the channels. The fact that it has so much publicity is one big drawing factor.’
Students also said they love the enthusiasm of college athletes, who often are viewed as more dedicated to the game than professional players, who can be distracted by money and other incentives.
Even without the Syracuse men’s basketball team in this year’s NCAA Tournament, SU seniors like Brian Bodansky and Justin Betti plan to watch most of the March Madness games to keep track of their brackets. However, both agreed they would be skipping classes if Syracuse were in the NCAA Tournament.
‘Last year, it hurt,’ Betti said. ‘When they didn’t get in, I boycotted the Tournament for the first couple rounds. This year, after they lost to Villanova, I didn’t expect them to get in so now we can just relax and enjoy the basketball.’
Syracuse qualified again for the lower-tier National Invitational Tournament, losing Tuesday to Massachusetts. As for the NCAA Tournament, it may be another quiet weekend on campus as the games resume Thursday.
Patteson and his friends will be watching the drama unfold from their sofa as the Sweet 16 are boiled down to the Final Four by the end of the weekend. Upsets and surprises have ruined many brackets, but Patteson will be keeping his within reach – he’s still feeling good about his chances – Patteson has hot-shooting North Carolina beating Stanford in the final game.
‘You always have to be excited about the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight,’ Patteson said. ‘It’ll be some crazy drama.’
