Pop culture invasion
Patrick Stone
Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: Sports
Just over a week ago, nobody on the face of the planet knew who Stephen Curry was. Now, everyone and their grandmother not only knows how to pronounce his name (Stef-on), but can also tell you his entire family history, blood type, shoe size and favorite Ninja Turtle.
This is just one of the great things about the most polarizing sports month of the year: Prying into the personalities and private lives of otherwise ordinary college students who happen to play basketball.
Indeed, no event even comes close in the sporting world to March Madness in terms of pop culture invasion. We all fill out the brackets, watch the seemingly never ending supply of games on TV, then rip up out papers when some "other" 12 seed takes out a 5. So why's the NCAA Tournament so damned great for this country? Well, let me count the ways…
Different People. Different Strategies: Personally, I pick my brackets based on the quality, experience and overall talent of the head coach as well as how decent that team's inside presence is. However, I know one person who has assembled a bracket based on who wears the prettiest jerseys. Needless to say, he has Bill Self's Kansas team going farther than me. Everyone knows the Guy Who Doesn't Pick Upsets or the Guy Who Picks Like a Madman, and the same goes for the Guy Who Picks Schools Friends Went To and the Guy Who Picks The School That Could Double As a Porn Name. For the record, he has Austin Peay winning it all.
Degrees in "Bracketology:" And you thought Mel Kiper Jr. was getting paid boatloads of money to do nothing. For weeks leading up to Selection Sunday, ESPN viewers can get their brains melted by resident "Bracketologist" Joe Linardi who details those teams pining to get off the bubble and into the tourney. He works three weeks a year, makes educated guesses, and wears a fancy suit. In other words, he's a politician.
Bob Knight, Meet the Press: Raise your hand if you had The General ever sitting peacefully with the media. Anybody? Didn't think so. In one month, the all time men's hoops wins leader went from Abrasive, Crazy Old Man to Abrasive, Crazy Old Man With a Microphone. He's absolutely fantastic. The Coach slouches in his seat, has uncomfortable exchanges with hosts, and says horribly backhanded things to Dick Vitale. Plus, he's the single most important reason people got on the Joe Alexander/West Virginia bandwagon. Pray the man never goes back to coaching.
This is just one of the great things about the most polarizing sports month of the year: Prying into the personalities and private lives of otherwise ordinary college students who happen to play basketball.
Indeed, no event even comes close in the sporting world to March Madness in terms of pop culture invasion. We all fill out the brackets, watch the seemingly never ending supply of games on TV, then rip up out papers when some "other" 12 seed takes out a 5. So why's the NCAA Tournament so damned great for this country? Well, let me count the ways…
Different People. Different Strategies: Personally, I pick my brackets based on the quality, experience and overall talent of the head coach as well as how decent that team's inside presence is. However, I know one person who has assembled a bracket based on who wears the prettiest jerseys. Needless to say, he has Bill Self's Kansas team going farther than me. Everyone knows the Guy Who Doesn't Pick Upsets or the Guy Who Picks Like a Madman, and the same goes for the Guy Who Picks Schools Friends Went To and the Guy Who Picks The School That Could Double As a Porn Name. For the record, he has Austin Peay winning it all.
Degrees in "Bracketology:" And you thought Mel Kiper Jr. was getting paid boatloads of money to do nothing. For weeks leading up to Selection Sunday, ESPN viewers can get their brains melted by resident "Bracketologist" Joe Linardi who details those teams pining to get off the bubble and into the tourney. He works three weeks a year, makes educated guesses, and wears a fancy suit. In other words, he's a politician.
Bob Knight, Meet the Press: Raise your hand if you had The General ever sitting peacefully with the media. Anybody? Didn't think so. In one month, the all time men's hoops wins leader went from Abrasive, Crazy Old Man to Abrasive, Crazy Old Man With a Microphone. He's absolutely fantastic. The Coach slouches in his seat, has uncomfortable exchanges with hosts, and says horribly backhanded things to Dick Vitale. Plus, he's the single most important reason people got on the Joe Alexander/West Virginia bandwagon. Pray the man never goes back to coaching.
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