With the remaining snow still lingering on the ground and frigid temperatures persisting, the 31 days of March can feel like wintertime purgatory, an unnecessary transition between the present and flowers blooming in sunshine. Despite this, there is one key event to look forward to in the world of sports: March Madness. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball tournament arrives midway through the month each year, spiking the interest of millions all across the country. Every tournament is filled with excitement, competition, and extraordinary upsets. Each game gives the opportunity for a player to skyrocket to fame and a school to make their mark in history. It’s the perfect atmosphere for thrilling entertainment.
For many people, March Madness can be a complicated event. Annually, this cultural phenomenon renews, and people can easily find themselves buried by tournament conversation and buzz. However, once it’s broken down, the journey towards the title is not very complicated. At the end of the NCAA basketball regular season, the 68 teams who make the tournament are determined by either earning an automatic bid through winning a conference tournament or an at-large bid by an official committee. This selective process allows March Madness to display only the highest level of competition. Following the selection process, teams are seeded and placed on the bracket. This process occurs immediately after games are finished on the day dubbed Selection Sunday, which takes place on March 15. Just two days later, the first games begin. Four games, the First Four, slim down the playing field to just 64 teams. Over the course of six rounds of high-stakes single-elimination games, just one team will raise the NCAA trophy.
The first official Division I basketball tournament took place in 1939. Games quickly became renowned for their unpredictability and inspiring storylines, and CBS broadcaster Brent Musburger popularized the preexisting term ‘March Madness’ in his description of the 1982 tournament. These words are now synonymous with the NCAA bracket. In recent years, the games have grown increasingly mainstream. The final matchup of the 2025 tournament drew an average of 10.2 million people across multiple platforms. March Madness plays a major role in sports culture in the country, and as the tournament continues to grow, the impact also increases. Many traditions and ways to follow March Madness have developed as a result of the popularity. Arguably the most common way to enjoy the tournament is to create a bracket. Bracket culture dominates March and presents an easy opportunity to follow the tournament. Around forty million people submit their brackets to major platforms such as ESPN every year with the hopes of creating the most accurate bracket. While the odds of creating a perfect one are incredibly small, one in 9.2 quintillion for completely uninformed predictions, there are smaller successes to be had. Some pools give money or a prize to the participants with the most correct games; others acknowledge who picked the correct overall winner.
Bracket culture is also prevalent in LM, with many students running their own competitions. Even some teachers, such as chemistry teacher Glen Hughes, incorporate March Madness into their classes. Hughes runs a bracket competition between his
different sets, and the most accurate class receives a reward. While this approach introduces some students to the tournament, a
large number are already involved in the excitement. Sam Chalal ’27 explains how, “My friends and I run our own bracket competition where we make brackets but also select players like a draft and get points for how well they perform in each game.” This system requires previous knowledge of the sport and teams, but this isn’t at all necessary to make a bracket. Maggie Press ’28, who doesn’t normally follow college basketball, describes how she “takes part in a big family bracket tournament with me and all my cousins, which is a lot of fun and a good way to stay in touch.” Selections in a bracket can be made randomly, by looking at the given seeds, or even through personal connection to the school. Jolin Qiu ’28 enjoys the tournament because, “My family and I are big Duke fans and we like watching them play in the intense environment.” Because of the varying reasons for following games, many different types of viewers are attracted to the tournament, creating a unique and diverse sporting experience.
March Madness is the ultimate competition. The tournament has it all: the emotions, the tension, the energy, and the talent. Some sports fans regard it as ‘the best time of the year.’ Throughout the Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four, and championship game, fans are privileged to witness incredible athletes push for their dreams. Shots are made and missed, legacies are built upon, and history is made. March Madness is a soothing constant in life, the final buzzer as inevitable as the sun rising. Comfort is provided in the form of seeing others happy and watching athletes rise to the spotlight. Companionship is given, knowing that millions are watching too, their cheers and gasps echoing yours, thousands of miles apart. Most importantly, March Madness teaches us all to accept the chaos and appreciate the beauty of the wild unknown.
