The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

Paul Abell-USA TODAY Sports

For some, today is simply Thursday. For others, it’s the first day of spring. But for you and me, it’s the start of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (no disrespect to 4 games recently concluded in Dayton). And for us, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Sometimes, acting like you belong is the best way to get into places you otherwise would be barred, as this UVa fan found out on Sunday. Barry Petchesky from Deadspin.com writes:

"“At halftime of Virginia’s ACC tournament semifinal, Danny had an idea. He noticed all the Cavaliers staff members hovering around the team, and discerned what exactly gave them to the power to roam freely around the court: a suit with a Virginia-orange tie. One day and one trip to Walmart later, Danny was down on the floor, celebrating a conference title and shaking hands with a dejected Coach K.It’s the oldest rule of event-crashing. Look like you know what you’re doing, and dress the part, and you can go pretty much anywhere.”"

Every year, along with stories about Cinderella teams and tips on filling out your March Madness bracket, you can find a story or two about how much the NCAA Tournament costs employers in terms of worker productivity. But perhaps that loss is a bit overblown. From Jena McGregor of the Washington Post:

"“This yearly ritual is a little overblown. The Challenger report admits that ‘statistics on how many American workers are participating in office pools and watching games online when they should be working are a little harder to come by’ than data on the teams playing in the tournament itself. One of the surveys it cites, for instance, was an online survey, and Challenger admitted that while more than 100 million workers could be distracted by the tourney, that’s only ‘if that survey pool was representative of the U.S. working population.’ Big if.”"

The New York Times website has a neat interactive feature on its NCAA Tournament page. Enter 3 teams you hate and 1 team for you love and it will “calculate” your Bracket Emotional Toll. Of course, I entered “Louisville”, “Duke”, and “Florida” as the 3 teams I hate and “Kentucky” as the team for whom I am rooting. My toll? Just slightly above “Shattered”.

Finally, the most important soccer news in the country is many, many, many years. On Tuesday, Julian Green filed paperwork with with FIFA—soccer’s governing body—to switch his national team association from Germany to the United States. Green is an 18 year old forward with Bayern Munich, the top professional club in the world. Green has superstar potential; this is a major coup for the U.S. Men’s National Team. In basketball terms, Green is Anthony Davis, a 5-star, #1 ranked recruit. From Ives Galarcep of the Sporting News:

"“So how talented is he? Green is highly technical, very fast, boasts a strong left foot and the qualities to play as a left winger or second striker. He showed an ability to finish chances during his time in Germany’s lower divisions, and with the prospects of being coached and mentored by a manager like Guardiola, Green boasts a path to potential stardom unlike that of any other teenager in the U.S. national team player pool.”"