Really, is there a better time of year than late March? You have Baseball ramping up, NHL and NBA have playoff races starting, and you might possibly have the best yearly tournament in the world NCAA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship or March Madness. Before I get lambasted by people saying UEFA Champions League is the best tournament in the world, one thing that sets them apart. Champions League takes place over 4 months, and it is Professional Teams / Players, which personally sets it apart from March Madness because you have 63 games played within 1 month and these are AMATEURS!
There is something about NCAA Basketball which appeals to me and that is the purity of the game. The majority of the players will not make it to the NBA (they will be accountants, ad execs, farmers - I don't know what they study at those schools in the heartland) and the ones who will make it know that this is the stage for them to get paid. Over the last couple of years, I've seen some of these players make the transition, and the way they handle the pressure of the tournament usually says what kind of player they are, and if they will be able to effectively make that jump. Perfect example: Chris Paul. His final year at Wake Forest in 2005 was something to behold. He was fast and a good distributor, definitely above the rest of the players, with his help, he was able to take them to the Sweet Sixteen that year.
Teams without the big stars like Paul play great team basketball. We all know about Cinderella, and this is the ball. We had a chance to witness a great storyline two years ago when George Mason #11 seed shocked everyone by making it to the Final Four first by taking out my boys Michigan St. #6, North Carolina #3 and Wichita #7 (who in their own right upset Tennesee #2) then finally taking UConn #1 in a barn burner 66-64 in OT. There really is something for everyone.
The first two weekends make for some long nights, a bunch of my friends we all get together and watch those first 4 days (Thursday thru Sunday) non stop. Who will be this year's Cinderella? Will the power rankings prove correct when they seed the teams? It all starts Sunday March 16 2008, when the brackets are announced and continues on into Easter weekend, which means a lot of time at home to watch all those games Friday.
So who will it be this year? A big perennial power house (UCLA / FLORIDA / CONN), Cinderella? How many will shine so bright they end up in the draft this summer? We'll find out all these questions in 6 days. Basketball fans, Let the Madness Begin!