Hello all,
It's that time of year again, spring, and along with it, March Madness. For any of you who do not know what March Madness is, it's the annual tournament the NCAA holds to find out the best college in the nation- in basketball, that is.
The NCAA March Madness tournament consists of 68 collegiate teams, splitting into four regions, the Midwest, South, East, and West. Along with that comes seeds, sort of like rankings, in each region. For instance, Gonzaga, a top contender in the tournament, is the number 1 seed. Another example, Harvard, (Jeremy Lin's alma mater!) is a number 14 seed and is considered a "dark horse" in the tournament, which means that although they are under-rated, they could be dangerous.
But the main reason why everyone comes to watch and root for teams during March Madness is filling out brackets. Brackets, as the one shown above, are usually filled out by many people, whether they like basketball or not. Filling out brackets is simple. You look at the matchup between the two NCAA teams, and pick a winner! The numbers on the side of the NCAA teams is their seed, and how people think they stack up against most other teams. For example, the number 1 seeds, like Gonzaga, Louisville, Indiana and Kansas, are considered by most the best teams in the tournament. Many people usually fill out the brackets accordingly to the seeds, such as a number 5 seed Oklahoma State will beat a number 12 seed Belmont.
But, you shouldn't always trust what a team's seed. There have been many upsets and surprising outcomes in the past, and even in this tournament. Just today, the number 14 seed La Salle beat a number 3 seed Kansas St., and yesterday, number 14 HARVARD beat the number 3 seed New Mexico!
One interesting fact, there has never been a perfect bracket. Nobody has ever filled out a bracket, and gotten all of their picks correct!
Many people fill out brackets, including our President, Mr. Barack Obama! This year he picked a hopeful #1 offense in the nation, Indiana.
Whether or not you like basketball, you should at least fill out a bracket. Because you never know if you will get your picks right.
Along with this "madness," comes many opportunities for sports brands such as Nike and Adidas. Nike has made shirts for teams like Duke, Miami, and Illinois, Duke's shown below. Colorways for different shoes and elites have come out as well.
Although the tournament has already started, in fact with many upsets today and yesterday, check out some games on TBS, CBS, truTV, or TNT. Many games are worth watching, especially as it gets down to the final minutes. There is always much tension in games, even if it isn't that important.
So watch a game or two, and check out what the "madness" is all about. My bracket isn't going very well, as many upsets have busted my bracket. The number 5 Wisconsin, got beat by the number 12 seed Ole Miss, which screwed my whole bracket over. I had Wisconsin going to the Final Four. :( But, I still have hope for the number 2 seed Miami Hurricanes, as I have them winning it all.
Sincerely,
Asian Occasion
Luke
It's that time of year again, spring, and along with it, March Madness. For any of you who do not know what March Madness is, it's the annual tournament the NCAA holds to find out the best college in the nation- in basketball, that is.
The NCAA March Madness tournament consists of 68 collegiate teams, splitting into four regions, the Midwest, South, East, and West. Along with that comes seeds, sort of like rankings, in each region. For instance, Gonzaga, a top contender in the tournament, is the number 1 seed. Another example, Harvard, (Jeremy Lin's alma mater!) is a number 14 seed and is considered a "dark horse" in the tournament, which means that although they are under-rated, they could be dangerous.
But the main reason why everyone comes to watch and root for teams during March Madness is filling out brackets. Brackets, as the one shown above, are usually filled out by many people, whether they like basketball or not. Filling out brackets is simple. You look at the matchup between the two NCAA teams, and pick a winner! The numbers on the side of the NCAA teams is their seed, and how people think they stack up against most other teams. For example, the number 1 seeds, like Gonzaga, Louisville, Indiana and Kansas, are considered by most the best teams in the tournament. Many people usually fill out the brackets accordingly to the seeds, such as a number 5 seed Oklahoma State will beat a number 12 seed Belmont.
But, you shouldn't always trust what a team's seed. There have been many upsets and surprising outcomes in the past, and even in this tournament. Just today, the number 14 seed La Salle beat a number 3 seed Kansas St., and yesterday, number 14 HARVARD beat the number 3 seed New Mexico!
One interesting fact, there has never been a perfect bracket. Nobody has ever filled out a bracket, and gotten all of their picks correct!
Many people fill out brackets, including our President, Mr. Barack Obama! This year he picked a hopeful #1 offense in the nation, Indiana.
Whether or not you like basketball, you should at least fill out a bracket. Because you never know if you will get your picks right.
Along with this "madness," comes many opportunities for sports brands such as Nike and Adidas. Nike has made shirts for teams like Duke, Miami, and Illinois, Duke's shown below. Colorways for different shoes and elites have come out as well.
Although the tournament has already started, in fact with many upsets today and yesterday, check out some games on TBS, CBS, truTV, or TNT. Many games are worth watching, especially as it gets down to the final minutes. There is always much tension in games, even if it isn't that important.
So watch a game or two, and check out what the "madness" is all about. My bracket isn't going very well, as many upsets have busted my bracket. The number 5 Wisconsin, got beat by the number 12 seed Ole Miss, which screwed my whole bracket over. I had Wisconsin going to the Final Four. :( But, I still have hope for the number 2 seed Miami Hurricanes, as I have them winning it all.
Sincerely,
Asian Occasion
Luke
