Mandel: Nothing brings a divided country together like March Madness. Enjoy it
You can find more of it The athletic’S coverage of the men’s NCAA tournament here and the women’s NCAA tournament here. Catch live coverage of the first round of the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament
On Wednesday, I boarded a flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas for the express purpose of watching college basketball.
Not to attend an actual basketball game, mind you. Those flights were headed to Omaha, Neb., and Charlotte, NC. In my case, I spend hundreds of dollars for the privilege of sitting (or standing) in various sportsbooks and watching parties to watch NCAA Tournament games that are readily available on the television in my living room.
If the high hotel prices and $250 tickets for reserved seats are any indication, hundreds of thousands of other sports fans are doing the same.
For many of them, betting is probably the draw, but these days you don’t have to fly to Vegas to place a sports bet. Alcohol consumption may be another, but that too is easily available for much less than a plane ticket.
The appeal of Vegas for March Madness is much the same as it is for millions of people filling out brackets and cheering their heads off for schools and players they had never heard of two hours earlier. That’s because the NCAA tournament is one of our country’s increasingly rare communal experiences.
New audible!
Special guest @rodger fills in Bruce. We mainly talk about football, but the man is also an expert at tackling NCAA Tournament issues.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) March 20, 2024
In these polarizing times, when even the most innocent topic can spark outrage, there is still one thing that people from all parts of the country enjoy equally: supporting the underdog. There are no two sides to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson knocking off No. 1 seed Purdue (unless you’re a Purdue fan). There is no political agenda behind the disturbing St. Peter’s in Kentucky.
It’s nothing but pure, pure joy to watch for two hours as a team of complete unknowns, who play most of their games in front of 800 people, take on a bunch of future professionals from a power conference and come out on top. Or when, with a team’s season on the line, 19-year-old sophomores drain a 3-point buzzer-beater to etch themselves into “One Shining Moment” lore for the rest of their lives.
No other sporting event manages to deliver so many indelible moments year after year. Sure, there are “glitches” in professional sports. But if the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl, it will ultimately be one multi-millionaire team beating another team. Not exactly Oral Roberts beating Ohio State.
College football has had its share of Cinderella moments, like Appalachian State stunning Michigan or Boise State toppling Oklahoma. But when it comes to the biggest late-season games, it’s almost always Alabama, Georgia or Michigan beating another Alabama, Georgia or Michigan.
The NBA has LeBron, Giannis and Jokić. But there is no Sister Jean.
But above all, in all these sports there are no teams that the entire country supports. People don’t suddenly turn into Philadelphia Eagles fans once the NFL playoffs start. But if you’ve ever been in an arena where No. 13 is still hanging around in the second half, you know the buzz of 20,000 people suddenly turning into rabid Furman fans for the rest of the game.
The only thing you can compare it to is events like the World Cup or the Olympic Games, where an American team or athlete participates. But even the women’s national soccer team has become politicized, with the men causing collective fear mainly because they are so mediocre. And chances are you don’t even remember the names of most of the gold medalists from the last Olympics.
While every college basketball fan will forever remember the likes of Bryce Drew, Tyus Edney and Kris Jenkins.
That brings me back to Vegas. Although it doesn’t have to be Vegas. It could be your local Buffalo Wild Wings. Or the dive bar in your neighborhood. Or a sports bar close enough to sneak into on your lunch break.
March Madness is the one sporting event that is best enjoyed in the company of others. Experience the rollercoaster of scoring droughts and momentum swings in a room full of other captivated viewers as your Final Four pick tries to survive a first-round scare. High-five random people around you when Vermont sinks a 3-pointer and is nine points ahead of Duke.
Or running around the room screaming and hugging strangers when a kid from Long Beach State puts one at the buzzer to take down Arizona.
Enjoy the flight, wherever you go.
Get ready for March Madness:
(Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)