It's March madness time ladies and gentlemen! The most exciting time of the year for ANY sports fan. Every March, 65 college basketball teams are selected by the NCAA Selection Committee to participate in this exclusive tournament. Each team is seeded and placed in brackets in four different regions. You either win and keep playing; lose once and YOU'RE DONE. The single elimination aspect of making March madness picks is what makes March madness so much fun. Every year without fail, there are games that go to the final seconds with a team hitting the shot to end the other teams entire season. It happens all the time, year after year, without fail.
Another great aspect of the NCAA brackets is the "Cinderella" teams that almost always surface year after year. A Cinderella team is one that is ranked high in the NCAA basketball March madness tournament, so therefore is not expected to do well but without a doubt, this upstart team will beat favorite teams and make an improbable run to for the national title. This year's Final Four will be held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. We may see a Cinderella team get to that point this year by making the right picks. Remember George Mason's improbable run? Anything is possible when its March madness time!
Last year was a fun and exciting time for March madness. It was the first time in history we saw all number 1 seeds make it to the final 4! The likelihood of history repeating itself this year is slim to none. In the 2008 tournament, the Jayhawks beat the Memphis Tigers 75-68 in overtime in one of the most memorable championship games ever. This year we may be seeing Connecticut ousting Duke at the last second this year to win the national championship or even North Carolina squeaking past Wake Forest! Anything is possible during March madness which is why it is so much fun to watch. It is hard predicting the outcome, but very possible if you have the right help and knowledge on your side.
One of the biggest factors people forget to take into consideration when making their March madness picks is team chemistry. Team chemistry is one of the most important factors for any team. If one player goes down and gets hurt right when the tournament is starting, that team's entire chemistry can be messed up and can easily lose. Team chemistry can turn average teams into superstar teams. If players are playing well together and feeling confident, that team may very well be able to knock out any team thrown at them. As you can see, there is a lot more that goes into predicting the outcome of the March madness brackets. You can win lots of money by predicting most of the 64 team's outcomes. Believing in your "gut feeling" and taking action will help you win your NCAA brackets easily. I wish you the best of luck in winning the March Madness 2009 Brackets!
If you are a basket ball fanatic, you would be familiar with "March Madness" as it is popularly called. In a nutshell, it refers to basket ball competitions between scores of teams that usually takes place during the month of March. It is also sometimes known as Big Dance.
When these competitions get underway, basket ball fever grips players and sports lovers alike. This championship is conducted by NCAA or the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In fact, the phrase is a registered trademark by NCAA. The tournament is based on single elimination principle and is normally help each spring and is characterized by the thump of basket balls and the roaring of the crowds. Millions of fans watch avidly with bated breaths as this event unfolds.
March Madness traces its origins to Illinois from 1908 when it was a small affair sponsored by Illinois High School Association through invitations. Various high school boys' basket ball teams participated in this annual tournament. From those humble origins, the event grew to a statewide institution engulfing 900 schools in the competition in the late 1930s. In fact, there were several teams known as "sweet sixteen" that became popular attracting march madness bracket sellout crowds.
Interestingly, all this transpired before professional teams gained a foot hold in the nation. Even more surprising is the fact, this was all before television and still gripped the average fan. Obviously, the basket ball fever had transformed itself into epidemic proportions!
When did the term first appear on paper? Way back in 1939, Henry V. Porter, impressed by this sports fever wrote an essay "March Madness" which appeared in Illinois Interscholastic, an IHSA magazine. Henry Porter was an Assistant Executive Secretary of the Illinois High School Association at that time. Newspapermen caught onto it immediately and used it often in their newspapers. This finally crystallized as a popular event name during the Golden Era of 1940s and 1950s.
In 1973, the IHSA began to use the term officially through its programs and merchandising. Around 1977, an official history of the boys basket ball championship was written by Jim Enright and appeared as "March Madness: The Story of High School Basketball in Illinois". Another publication "March Madness: The Official Video History of the IHSA Basketball Tournament" followed suit in 1989. Both book and video were marketed and sold across the nation. Shortly thereafter, the IHSA trademarked the phrase as "America's Original March Madness."
At present, both NCAA and the IHSA jointly own the registered trademark of March Madness. The term is now often connected with the NCAA popularized largely by Brent Musburger during annual broadcasts of the tournament. Interestingly, in the 1960s, Intersport Inc., had actually trademarked the term before IHSA and NCAA. However, both of them bought it back.
"March Madness" is no longer confined to boys basket ball tournament and has been extended to girl's basket ball championships too by NCAA. The tournaments are regarded now as part of the national psyche that send millions of Americans into a frenzy every year.