Powered by:
as known from New York Timesas known from USA Todayas known from yahoo!
VA
Contains commercial content
The Grueling Truth - Where Legends Speak / Seven Reasons Why the NCAA Tournament has Become the Greatest Sporting Event in America

Seven Reasons Why the NCAA Tournament has Become the Greatest Sporting Event in America

Why March Madness Reigns Supreme!
Publish Date: 03/22/2024
Fact checked by: Mark Lewis

Up until the 1970’s, the NCAA Tournament wasn’t a huge deal to most people. Over the last 50 years, however, it’s become so big that even non-fans now follow.

Why is that?

1) The Dominance of UCLA   

The Bruins, led by head coach John Wooden, became the most dominant college basketball team in the late 1960s. Dynasties can be good, and with players like Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton, the Bruins dominated for close to a decade. As we reached the 70s talent became more spread out and teams like N.C.Statetate would step up to slow Wooden’s dominance. Wooden retired after 1975 and he was a stepping stone that others would build off to make the tournament what it is today.

Video: How To Bet On March Madness 🏀 Top Betting Tips & Picks 👀

How To Bet On March Madness 🏀 Top Betting Tips & Picks 👀

2) Bird vs. Magic 

The year was 1979. This was perhaps the biggest reason the tournament blew up to epic proportions. You had the inner-city African-American kid facing off against the small-town Indiana boy. It was a showdown that grew larger over the course of the year. And the way it played out made the championship game the biggest event ever played in the history of college basketball. Indiana State went undefeated including an epic showdown in the regional finals against favored Arkansas. The Razorbacks were led by Sidney Moncrief. They were expected to win by most of the so-called experts.  Those people were wrong as Indiana State, led by Bird, beat Arkansas on a last-second shot to send the Sycamores to the Final Four.

There was also the underdog story in the Penn Quakers, who pulled off multiple upsets to also advance to the Final Four. Depaul, led by Mark Aguirre, also advanced to the Final Four and everybody loved the old grandfather, coach Ray Meyer.

Michigan State was led by Magic Johnson. The Spartans got hot during the tournament and started rolling over everybody. The Final Four was a monumental showdown that did not disappoint. Michigan State started out with one of the most dominant beatings in Final Four history by totally taking apart the Quakers. The next game was Depaul and Indiana State and Bird put on a show. The Sycamores won a close game, setting up the ultimate showdown.

The game itself was anti-climatic. Michigan State won by the score of 75-64 – the decisive factor was the Sycamores inability to hit free throws. The tournament hasn’t looked back since. It was all about Bird and Magic. The duo would go on to save the NBA after this.

 

3) Brackets

Brackets are to the NCAA Tournament what fantasy football has been to fans of the NFL. I can remember filling out brackets as early as 1982. I haven’t stopped since. Office bracket pools are extremely popular. They bring people in that would not normally care about college basketball.

4) Upsets

Who doesn’t like David vs. Goliath stories? Unlike college football, everybody has a chance to win it all. 68 teams get in, but in all reality, the conference tournaments give everybody the chance to compete for the title. In college football, a team like Central Florida would have the possiablty of playing the big boys if a legit tournament with 16-32 teams existed. But as we know, it doesn’t. People will say the best team doesn’t always win. I, on the other hand, think the champion should be the last team standing at the end.

Tournament basketball is different than regular season basketball. It’s much different coaching a one-and-done tournament than game 15 of 30. The regular season is where you prepare your team to win a championship in March.

5) Emotion

No other sporting event displays the emotions of players and fans the way the NCAA tournament does. Sure you see a couple of guys cry if they lose the Super Bowl, but you don’t see the raw emotion that the NCAA Tournament gives you and it is enthralling to watch.

6) Television

TV has a tendency to ruin a lot of sports by over-saturation. But the way the tournament plays out, there’s no better way to watch it. You get to see every game, but more important than that is the fact that with the staggered start times, you can see the ending of any game you want.

What is a better way to end the tournament than “One Shinning Moment”?

7) Expansion of the Tournament

It seems to me that every time they expand the tournament it gets bigger than it was before. Many people complain that it waters it down. But the more teams that qualify, the more attention will be on the tournament. Maybe expanding to let everybody in would be a good thing. I’m torn on that idea at the present time, but I do know the greatest basketball tournament ever held was the Indiana High School basketball tournament. That tourney allowed everyone to participate no matter how big or small the school was, and the interset skyrocketed. In 1997 they did away with the tournament, basically killing the greatest sporting event I have ever seen.

 

Follow The Grueling Truth on Twitter @GruelingTruth and Like us on Facebook

Read Also
Esteban de Jesus, Roberto Duran y AIDS (1972-89)
Many of us dream of celebrity sports fame, but only cruel individuals ...
The Complexities of Bob Knight: The Greatest Coach of All-Time?
  Bob Knight, born in 1940 and raised in Orrville, Ohio, was ...
Bet365 Promo
The Greatest College Basketball Team of All Time
Rating the greatest college basketball teams ever has been done many times ...
Bob Knight’s 1973-76 Indiana Hoosiers: What Might Have Been?
What if's are a huge talking point for fans of all teams, ...
Top 10 College Basketball Players of all time
 Awards: National College Player of the Year, 2x MVC Player of the ...
Top 10 College Basketball Teams of All Time: Which Team was the Greatest?
Today, we look back at the all-time greatest teams in College basketball ...
Come Fly with me: How the 1988-89 Chicago Bulls pushed forward to an NBA dynasty.
Find the best sportsbook to bet on the NBA Playoffs! Prologue: By ...
Ultimate March Madness Regional Final: 1996 Kentucky Wildcats vs. 1968 UCLA Bruins
This matchup is between possibly the two best teams that these programs ...
What is the Best Decade of Basketball in NBA History?
15Every NBA player and fan thinks that their generation of basketball was ...
Ranking the top 200 players in the NFL ahead of the 2021 season
This list isn’t based solely on performances from the 2020 NFL season. ...
Sportsbook of the month
Bet365 - Get your Bonus Bet now! Get your Bonus Bet now!
Latest Sport News
Ursa Major or Minor: Was it Jeffries or Liston? 
James Jackson Jeffries and Charles L. “Sonny” Liston; ...
2024 NFL Mock Draft: Updated 3.0 with Trades included!
Free agency is all but done at this ...
Find out what the legends have to say about sports this week....
Find out what the legends have to say about sports this week....

21+ and present in VA. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

This site is using Cloudflare and adheres to the Google Safe Browsing Program. We adapted Google's Privacy Guidelines to keep your data safe at all times.

Close
Players accepted in the US US Flag
Stake.us Exclusive Bonus
$55 Stake Cash + 260K Gold Coins + 5% Rakeback
Promo Code
Copy
Visit Site
T&Cs apply, 18+
Payment Methods
Bitcoin
Litecoin
Ethereum
Dogecoin
Highlights
  • Exclusive promo code: TGTSOCIAL
  • Play Plinko, Hilo, Crash and more!
  • Get Stake Cash bonuses every day!
Stake Originals
Dice
Crash
Plinko
Mines
×
Your Promo Code:
The bonus offer of was already opened in an additional window. If not, you can open it also by clicking the following link:
Visit Site