A couple of days ago, most of us in the Iona community had the sad opportunity to watch, whether live in the arena in Bridgeport or glued in front of our televisions to ESPN 2 (the only time that this will ever happen) our beloved Gaels lose in the MAAC Championship game to a St. Peter’s team that we had handled during the regular season. While it would have been nice for the Gaels to get into the NCAA Tournament for what, for some of us, is our final year here, it would be wrong not to celebrate the great season.

Rather than reminisce on the season that the Gaels had, however, what the loss really does for me is get me thinking about the looming NCAA Tournament, and the madness that the tournament brings to its millions of viewers across the nation. It is a time, to say the least, where most of us, whether at home or even in the workplace, stay glued to the television. In the early days of the tournament, there are days where college basketball is aired on CBS for close to ten hours. It is clear that America loves it college sports, and in particular college basketball. But why?

For those of us who are in college still, the tournament seems especially resonant. It is something that, year in and year out, we can get excited about and look forward to. Even up until Monday night, Iona had the opportunity to reach the NCAA Tournament and play more nationally televised games. The mystery behind why we love March Madness so much seems to lie in the viewership that is not still receiving a college education.

Year in and year out, millions watch the tournament, meaning that it can’t be confined to just a college viewership. But what is it about college sports in particular that resonate with the American public?

To begin, there is the effort that college students exert when they are playing in the NCAA Tournament. For each and every player on each and every team, there is a youthful jubilation that is visible on their faces. For the most part, this youthful glee seems to be lost on the professional level. During the NCAA Tournament, viewers are watching basketball in its purest form.

For all intents and  purposes, the players on the court are nothing more than a bunch of scrappy kids playing a game the way it was meant to be played.

While there are standout players, players that the public knows are going to play on the next level, most of the kids involved in the tournament aren’t going to pursue a professional sports career. They play for the love of the game, and realize that the NCAA Tournament may be their last shot at any semblance of sports glory.

These players, barring any sort of recruiting violations, are not playing for the money or the sponsorship. They could care less about who buys advertising space during their game session and, I’d take a guess, they’d probably be OK if the NCAA decided to do away with media timeouts. They play because they love the game.

Each year, there are a number of games in the tournament that provide excitement because they go down to the wire. Underdogs that upset highly ranked teams become fan favorites, and cinderella teams with cinderella stories write their way into the history books for years to come.

And really, when it comes down to it, that is the reason that we watch the NCAA Tournament with unwavering eyes. We know that going in there are heavily favored teams, and teams that will probably lose in the first round, but it doesn’t matter. By principle, the Tournament is beautiful because, in reality, anything can happen.It’s not out of the question for teams to upset other teams and make tournament runs deep into March. And that’s why we watch. We watch because, for the most part, it is all unpredictable. And yes, for those of us that will be leaving college soon, there is a sentimental attachment that comes with rooting for our alma mater. March provides college sports in all their beauty.

To contact The Ionian’s Ryan Karpusiewicz, e-mail him at [email protected].