It is that time of year: March Madness—the biggest NCAA event for men’s and women’s basketball. Out of 64 teams, only one comes out on top. With buzzer-beaters, upsets and nonstop games, it’s called March Madness for a reason. My birthday falls right in the middle of the tournament, and my sister was born on Selection Sunday in 2007, so we were born in the midst of the madness. Growing up, it wasn’t unusual for our birthday parties to revolve around the games. In every birthday picture, you can see March Madness playing in the background. As much as the games are fun to watch, filling out a bracket is the best part.
No one has crafted the perfect bracket, so it’s nearly impossible. Everyone has their own strategy; some people research stats, past matchups and injury reports but still get wrecked by that random upset. No one actually knows what will happen. My strategy doesn’t make sense; I go off what I feel at that moment. For instance, I picked Drake to beat Missouri because my friend goes there, and I had Colorado St. winning against Memphis because my mom lived in Colorado for a while. While that method has kept my men’s bracket at 99.1% accuracy so far, it’s only a matter of time before things turn. The unpredictability of upsets is what makes March Madness live up to its name.
One of the biggest and best parts of the madness is the upsets (go underdogs). This year’s tournament has delivered some upsets. In the first round, we saw No. 12 McNeese take down No. 5 Clemson with a close 69-67 win. I had McNeese winning because my father has always said never to rely on Clemson. Another upset was No. 11 Drake taking down No. 6 Missouri with a 67-57 win. Upsets make the tournament enjoyable, allowing a team like McNeese to make a name for themselves and become loved by the public. With that, I discovered the most ICONIC NCAA men’s basketball manager, Amir “Aura” Khan.
Being introduced to Khan has been the best part of the tournament because he has a huge ego, and I love it. He led the team out of the locker room, rapping along to Lud Foe’s “In and Out.” The team adores him so much that the cheerleaders wore socks with Khan’s face. He said, “If they kept manager stats for rebounding and wiping up wet spots on the court, I’d put up Wilt Chamberlain numbers.” How can you not love the guy? He went so viral that Khan signed multiple NIL deals with Buffalo Wild Wings, Tick Pick and Insomnia Cookies. Things like this make March Madness more than a game.
The unpredictability, the emotion, the upsets and the sweethearts of the tournament make March Madness such an exciting time. It brings people together, creates competitiveness between loved ones and turns me into a basketball fan for a few weeks. This year has been my favorite in a while because of all the interesting events that have gone into it (it’s only because my bracket is doing well).
