March Madness confessions: Won't fill out a bracket, don't know the players ... I'll always watch | Opinion

Mark Podolski, The News-Herald, Willoughby, Ohio
·3 min read

Mar. 19—I really shouldn't be watching March Madness starting this weekend.

I won't fill out a bracket, and hand over $10 to a friend running the contest.

I have no rooting interest whatsoever.

Without a doubt, I know more women's Division I college basketball players this season than on the men's side. It starts with Iowa's Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese of LSU and and UConn's Paige Bueckers.

As for the magic of March Madness, it's no doubt not as magical as it used to be. Of course, that's only my opinion but I stand firm many will agree on this stance.

Ask me what team won the 1982 NCAA men's title and I'll say, "Of course, North Carolina, when Michael Jordan swished it from the left wing."

Or 1983 ... North Carolina State.

Or 1985 ... Villanova.

Or 1988 ... Kansas and Danny Manning.

Or 1991 and 1992 ... Duke, back to back.

Or 1993 ... North Carolina.

Ask me the team that won the national championship in 2015, and I'll say, "I have no clue."

Editor's break (and Google search) ... It was Duke, Coach Mike Krzyzewski's fifth and final national championship.

Perhaps I'm wrong. Perhaps recent national champions are as memorable as those of the past. Perhaps time will tell.

Perhaps it's the nostalgia in me but the heyday of March Madness seems firmly entrenched in the 1980s and into the '90s.

So much has changed since then. It's been gradual, but now the transfer portal and one-and-done players can make many teams simply unrecognizable for the average fan — many who might root more for their favorite team's jersey than the players these days.

Gone are the days when the likes of all-time college basketball greats such as then-Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton of UCLA, Georgetown's Patrick Ewing and Virginia's Ralph Sampson seemed as if they would never not be playing college ball.

Flash forward to this year's men's tournament — any for that matter — and all of that doesn't seem to matter.

It doesn't matter I can't name the players on the men's side.

It doesn't matter that I didn't fill out a bracket.

What matters is it's March Madness.

Something special is about to happen this weekend. It seemingly always does.

Might we see another 16 seed defeat a top seed the way Fairleigh Dickinson did it against Purdue last season? It's doubtful, but at least now that it's happened twice in tournament history — University of Maryland, Baltimore County over Virginia in 2018 was the first — it's definitely possible.

Might UConn be the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007? As the overall No. 1 seed in the tournament, absolutely.

Then there's the unexpected heroes that emerge every March Madness.

There's Ali Farokhmanesh of Northern Iowa in 2010.

There's Matt Howard of Butler during its two Final Four runs in 2010 and 2011.

There's Antonio Gates of Kent State in 2002.

There's Harold Arceneaux of Weber State in 1999.

There's Valparaiso's Bryce Drew in 1998.

There's Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount in 1990.

There's Harold Jensen of Villanova in 1985.

Some names might bring back memories that spark an "Oh, I remember that guy."

Others might not, and that's OK.

Some will lead ESPN's "SportsCenter" highlights for a night, and be forgotten by the next.

That's OK, too.

For as long as I've watched basketball, I've always watched March Madness — and I always will.

Even without a filled-out bracket. Even without knowing the players.

It's March Madness.

That's more than enough.