Max Rothenburg
Prior to this month, I could count on one hand the number of basketball games I’ve watched. But as of today, March Madness has consumed me.
It all started with an invitation to join a “friendly” fantasy league. I clicked on the link and was taken to ESPN’s website for the first time in my life. There might have been more statistics on this one page than I’ve ever seen, but I wasn’t deterred.
I created an account and ESPN Mogar (my new identity in the world of basketball) was off to the races. At least, until I looked at the bracket on the next page.
With 128 teams staring me down, I was immediately overwhelmed. What was I supposed to do? A few of the names sounded familiar, but most of them went straight over my head.
There was only one course of action, I had to pick logos.
I flew through the bracket, picking the teams that looked cool, paying no attention to the seeds next to each name.
But I realized that was just the Round of 64 and I had more work to do. Eventually I wound up picking Kansas as the national champion. Not because they were a first seed, but because the bird looked hilarious.
I didn’t bother watching the first few games. When my phone blew up after Maryland-Baltimore County beat Virginia, I checked the bracket for the first time, wondering who I had picked.
For some it’s considered one of the greatest upsets ever, for me, it was 10 missed points in the first round.
Maryland-Baltimore County clearly must have been better at scoring touchdowns.
Even with those missed points, I was tied for second in our group of seven, only one game away from first place. It was a beautiful feeling seeing ESPN Mogar so high up in the standings and it started to pique my interest.
I began to think that since I was becoming invested in the standings, it could be a good idea to become invested in the sport as well.
So I watched a few games. I watched my future champion Kansas beat Pennsylvania and I started to enjoy it. I understood most of what was going on and seeing players so pumped up made me excited as well. I watched more games, keeping track of my points and where I was in the standings.
When the Round of 64 ended, I was miraculously in second with 230 of 320 points. I was on top of the world. I was invincible.
Then it all came crashing down. I ended the Round of 32 with 100 of 320 points. ESPN Mogar was in freefall, plummeting from second place to seventh, in dead last. It was a tragedy.
But the most interesting part was that I started to genuinely care about the teams. I checked the bracket more and more and started looking up information about the teams left in the tournament.
It’s not likely that Kansas will win, and it’s even less likely that I’ll climb in the standings, but I have hope. The Sweet 16 is about to start and there is enough time to mount a comeback.
I never thought I would be interested in basketball, but here we are.
It’s proof that giving something a shot is never a bad idea, even if at first you may not be interested.
Even if Kansas and ESPN Mogar lose, I suppose I will have to continue watching football in the future.
Max Rothenberg can be reached at [email protected]