March Madness...We Love the Underdog
I love me some March Madness (apologies for taking T.O's line and twisting it), but that's the truth. The one time a year when we take the 64 best teams in college basketball, throw them into a bracket and let them play it out.
I love me some underdogs too. I know other may disagree (like ESPN 1230's own Colin Cowherd who had a great show this morning on why underdogs are just that, dogs). While I see his point that underdogs rarely make any real noise in the tourney, it's like anything else, the possibility has us hooked.
I know a #16 seed has never beat a #1, I know that 96 % of the time the 2 beats the 15 seed but at least we have hope right? One day a #16 will beat a #1, will that be this season, no it won't. But it's a proven fact that college sports are being influenced by expanded television and internet coverage, so much so that some top-level talent are choosing smaller "mid-major" schools because they get plenty of exposure and in some cases a better education.
The parody in college basketball this season has been profound. I can't look at any of the potential #1 seeds and say "they're going all the way." And while I can't say that a #14 seed out of a mid-major will make the Final Four either, I could see that happening sometime in the near future.
To undermine the underdog is to undermine the entire tournament. We might as well just have a computer spit out the top-two teams and let them play for the title...oh yeah, that's been done. And all those detractors are calling for a tournament!
America loves the underdog, heck we are underdogs, founded by them, built by them, and re built by them. Let's appreciate the Chattanooga's, the Siena's and the rest of the little guys in the tourney...for one day the meek shall inherit the Earth.
I love me some underdogs too. I know other may disagree (like ESPN 1230's own Colin Cowherd who had a great show this morning on why underdogs are just that, dogs). While I see his point that underdogs rarely make any real noise in the tourney, it's like anything else, the possibility has us hooked.
I know a #16 seed has never beat a #1, I know that 96 % of the time the 2 beats the 15 seed but at least we have hope right? One day a #16 will beat a #1, will that be this season, no it won't. But it's a proven fact that college sports are being influenced by expanded television and internet coverage, so much so that some top-level talent are choosing smaller "mid-major" schools because they get plenty of exposure and in some cases a better education.
The parody in college basketball this season has been profound. I can't look at any of the potential #1 seeds and say "they're going all the way." And while I can't say that a #14 seed out of a mid-major will make the Final Four either, I could see that happening sometime in the near future.
To undermine the underdog is to undermine the entire tournament. We might as well just have a computer spit out the top-two teams and let them play for the title...oh yeah, that's been done. And all those detractors are calling for a tournament!
America loves the underdog, heck we are underdogs, founded by them, built by them, and re built by them. Let's appreciate the Chattanooga's, the Siena's and the rest of the little guys in the tourney...for one day the meek shall inherit the Earth.
posted by Corey Costelloe at
2:22 PM
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