March Madness is now officially underway.  For a college basketball fan, this is the day you've been waiting for all season long.

The first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament is the best sports day of the year.  It's not even close!

There’s 16 games on the 1st day!  You have 16 chances to have a memorable game.  It’s like a sports fans’ crack!

Everyone has a vested interest in the NCAA's.  People fill out brackets and they don’t know the difference between the Big 10 and the movie “10” with Bo Derek.

Every game on the 1st day matters and sets the tone with how you do with your brackets for the rest of the tourney.  My wife fills out her “Chart” (bracket) and she has watched ½ of a college game all year (Maryland vs. Duke back in late February).

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It’s easy to fill out a bracket and then get hooked.  Because once you do that, all the games have meaning to you.  I don’t care who’s playing -  if it’s on TV, you’ll be watching.

Winner and a loser with a story line that has a beginning, middle and end.

You don’t need to be a sports nut to fill out a bracket.  Pick the teams based on your friends that went to that college, lived in that city or even because you like the nickname.

Think about a Super Bowl Party.  Do you watch the Super Bowl because it’s a social event or because you really care who wins?  How many Super Bowl parties have you been to where ¾ of the people aren’t even watching the game by the 3rd quarter?  You’ve got 6 guys around the TV actually watching and everyone else is in the kitchen eating or in the garage playing darts or ping pong.

Does your wife or girlfriend know who won the Super Bowl last year?  I bet you she knows how she did in last year’s NCAA Tournament office pool.

Let’s be honest, the Super Bowl rarely lives up to the hype.  Most people think the commercials are better than the game.  If my team isn’t in the Super Bowl, I’m really not upset by the winner or the loser.  But if my bracket tanks or my school gets eliminated, I’m a mess.

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When Maryland gets ousted in the NCAA Tournament, I have an empty feeling that sits with me for a few days.  When the Redskins lose a game or they don’t make the playoffs, life goes on.

The first day of the NCAA Tournament is what college basketball is all about. The players playing for the love of the game.  For most college basketball players, the NCAA's will be the only time these guys will be on biggest stage of their lives since they won’t be playing professionally.  That brings a passion in sports that you can’t find on any other day of the year.

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