When the average person thinks of a sporting event, they may think of the Super Bowl or the World Series. These American classics have nearly all of the country tuning in every year, and from the high level of competition to the halftime show, they are always a joy to watch. What if I told you, though, that a non-professional, month-long event was even better? 

The month starts off with the conference tournaments. Teams you’ve never heard of, such as Northern Kentucky and Cleveland State, get to battle it out for a spot in the March Madness tournament. Each conference tournament winner is not only awarded an automatic bid in the tournament, but receives program-changing money that can grow in value depending on the team’s performance.

Next is Selection Sunday. For the 36 teams that do not have an automatic selection into the tournament, this specific Sunday in March is filled with anxiety, profuse sweating, and most likely a bit of praying. After the teams are seeded and matched up, the fun begins.

From this time until the start of the tournament, it is custom for fans to fill out brackets, some for money and some for fun. The great joy of this part is the unpredictability. Out of 68 teams, it is nearly impossible to guess every matchup correctly. I never took AP Stat, but I would assume that out of 67 games, the average Joe is bound to mess one up. It is so impossible that there has never been a perfect bracket recorded in the tournament’s 84-year history.

Finally, the Big Dance begins: The First Four, Round of 64, Round of 32, Sweet 16, Elite 8, and Final Four. Besides these creative alliterative names that math teachers seem to always love, the games are extremely entertaining. Filled with upsets, buzzer beaters, and Cinderella stories, the March Madness tournament never disappoints.