Fuck Bracketology

March. A month typically associated with spring and college basketball. Emails invites are flooding inboxes and office pools are recruiting all employees to feel the excitement of March Madness and picking a winning bracket.

Spare me how much you like the cinderella stories, the upsets, the pageantry, the support for your alma mater (has it been confirmed that you actually graduated from there, anyways?), the bullshit. March Madness is about one thing. Money. Pretty much like the rest of the NCAA and higher education in general.

So throw $10 bucks in a pool and laugh at the fact that for one month out the year gambling isn't frowned upon, but celebrated with blatant public participation. Which team of student-athletes do you have winning in the first round?

drawing courtesy of Elitistjerksports.com

The NCAA merchandising booths are stockpiling cash and credit card reciepts at event sites. Advertising dollars are pouring in and the first two days of the tourney, typically taken off work by sports fans for the non-stop stretch of college hoops on television. There is betting of all different sizes and strengths during the second half of March. All of it on amateur athletes, most of whom are just trying to get some exposure to go pro. All of it accepted by society, especially because those with no knowledge can participate, just fill out the bracket. Most of it resulting in shitty basketball (that is until the sweet 16 onward).

But what else is there to watch? NBA or NHL regular season games or spring training baseball (if there is a TV broadcast available).

The NCAA has slowly taken over the holiday season with football's BCS Bowl Championship Series which is code for 30 bowl games means 30 sponsors and assloads of advertising money. March rolls around, there is no ratings competition with any pro leagues, so the NCAA holds a 64-team tournament that is chosen not just based on merit, but also on preference.


The NCAA selection committee is made up of people who allegedly know which teams are the right ones to invite based on a variety of factors (i.e. strength of conference, schedule, prior tourney record/upsets, etc). There is a subjective human element involved however, and because of it, teams are picked based on fan attendance, how teams and their fans travel, teams that sell merchandise, etc. They package this whole production into a series of David vs. Goliath battle royals. They urge you to go to their website and fill out a bracket so they can get some personal information and show you more advertising  you can participate in the fun!

Even if you don't agree with any of the aforementioned, don't you think it's strange that the NBA proposed a rule that made kids go to college for at least a year? It creates the one and done (MVP Derrick Rose, #1 Draft Picks John Wall & Kyrie Irving) and doesn't allow a professional league, with a desperate need for young, marketable stars to sell shoes the ability to obtain them. I know the NBA's lock out was for some horrendously stupid reasons, but this could be the second worst thing.

From the parkin' lot!!!!! Rise and Fire.

The easy defense is to say no one would go to college and everyone would jump to the pros. Bullshit. NBA Scouts, General Managers, and Assistant Coaches get paid great money. They should be more shrewd with the Owners' and better with their talent evaluations. Conversely, even 18 year old studs out of high-school shouldn't get long-term, high-priced deals. They would naturally be interested in attending college, on a scholarship they would have to maintain, because it would the only way to work on their game and gain exposure. It also insures the student-athlete maintains the GPA required for the scholarship. That, or it's the catalyst for a new super scheme ala´ Blue Chips.

The NBA could've introduced a rookie pay-scale in their new collective bargaining agreement this year much like the NFL did in the prior season. For the NBA to voluntarily pass up the opportunity seems strange.

The NCAA is a committee made up of all its participating colleges and universities. When one of them wins, the school gets a nice payday. Football and Basketball are the highest grossing sports for Division 1-A athletics. It's in the colleges best interests to have good athletes who can get them exposure, sell sweatshirts and hats, and boost enrollment rates.

That's real March Madness.

I just hope by the time One Shining Moment comes on I don't vomit.

p.s.  I have Kentucky winning the whole thing. Calipari probably has a future all-rookie team on his hands again, along with some c-note residue. I might as well embrace the hypocrisy of college sports. I mean I did go to the U.