Say it people: we are one week away from the two greatest days of the entire sports year.
The Super Bowl—overrated. The World Series-—too spread out. The NBA playoffs—not good til the second month. But in seven days, fans will be treated to the first two magnificent days of the NCAA tournament.
And the factor that puts these days ahead of all the rest is a flexibility in coverage which almost always shifts attention to the best games.
Filling out brackets is the first step to properly enjoying the tournament's first week. It imbues each and every game with more value and keeps viewers busy tracking the various brackets changes (and, on occasion, seeing half their Final Four picks knocked out).
Sure, an NFL Sunday has lots of games, but most of them don't matter to all viewers. Next week that won't be true.
Furthermore, those days are made for the grand American pastime of planting one's self on the couch for hours on end, ignoring class, work and spouses. Just wake up, drag yourself to the couch and relinquish all thoughts of productivity.
But it's the coverage that really sets the viewing of early March Madness apart from all other sports.
CBS seems to have no issue moving fans from their scheduled games during timeouts or breaks. Few phrases in the English language make the hearts of viewers sing more than a play-by-play announcer saying, ""And we've got a timeout on the floor, we'll send you over to Syracuse where Jim and Dan are watching a tight game unfold.""
It's as simple as that. You get look-ins at random games throughout whatever game you're watching. Not random plays, not just a few score, but real, live moments of rapidly developing contests.
As the first set of games begins to wind down (four contests are run roughly at the same time), the coverage flexibility becomes even more important. Seriously, what is more exciting than hearing, ""Well, it looks like this one is just about wrapped up. We're going to send you over to Greensboro, where Virginia Commonwealth is holding on to a slim lead over the fifth-seeded Blue Devils""?
Our attention is rapidly moved to the most important events at that moment, and no one is reduced to watching the highlights of an epic overtime upset.
And then, once the great finish is complete, four more games come on. After that, four more. Then when the day is over and you realized that you forgot to shower and come to the realization that you are literally tired from sitting on your couch, you realize you get to do it again tomorrow.
Now some will take issue with the CBS coverage, especially if their primary game is a 1 vs. 16 matchup or if they have a lecture that takes attendance (thankfully that's not an issue this season). In that case, fans have a poorly planned contract to thank for that.
CBS lets fans watch any game except the one being televised online… for free. The games are slightly delayed, creating an issue when watching both on TV and online, but the ability to watch four games in lecture ultimately means the coverage caters even more toward the viewers.
Although the later days of the tournament are nice distractions, nothing quite beats 32 games over two days.
So fans, get ready. Clear your schedules for next Thursday and Friday. Stock up on food and prepare yourself for around 20 hours on the couch.
After all, these wonderful days only roll around once a year.
If you plan to do anything but watch boatloads of basketball next week, you need Ben's help, fast. E-mail him at breiner@wisc.edu.
