To most Boston sports fans, the fact that the Celtics are in second place in their conference and en route to the playoffs must be exciting. Though I consider myself hopelessly devoted to Beantown sports, I must admit that I can only name one player on the team and have not so much as watched a Celtics game on television this season. However, when the top two men's college basketball teams meet up on Saturday, you can bet that I'll be tuned in - even though I can't even name the Final Four teams, let alone their players.
Each March, when the sports world turns its head to the NCAA tournament, I find myself caught up in the frenzy of March Madness. College basketball excites me in a way that professional basketball does not because it is more of a game and much less of a circus. Though money and benefits scandals often emerge in college hoops, there is more of a sense that the amateur players are participating for love of the game. And that game is more pure than professional games because there are fewer interruptions for silly contests and less of an attempt to stimulate the audience with laser lights and loud music.
The last professional basketball game I went to - Miami Heat vs. the Memphis Grizzlies last December - would have been more appropriate if it had been held under a big top. Every second of the game was filled with programming - dance performances, musical interludes, and games involving members of the audience. There was the actual game going on, dancers between plays, and a DJ in a box in the stands who played music at all times. A large orb in the center of the court flashed color throughout the game, making it difficult for the eye to focus on the actual court.
This so-called entertainment in fact distracted from the game, and it ruined the pleasure of going to a sporting event to watch a sport. I couldn't even talk to the people I went with because it was as loud as a soft rock concert in the room, and we were constantly being told to look to this corner of the court for this, and turn our heads to the left side of the arena for that.
Halftime shows and cheers are traditional features of basketball and football games, and indeed, they are entertaining. When cheerleaders spend the game standing to the side, trying to rally the fans, it unites people and gets them excited about what is going on during the game. But the music and dance performances during the Miami game were just plain distracting.
College basketball, however, is a different story. There are cheerleaders and other forms of entertainment, but not on the scale of what professional teams have. At the Heat game, there was a sense that the game was a scripted show, while the raw aspect of college basketball allows fans to believe that any outcome is possible. A team can come back in the last few minutes of the game, or an underdog can defeat an opponent. College basketball is faster-paced, and the focus of the event is on the sport itself - who wins or loses and what effect this has on the national or conference standings.
The tradition of Final Four prediction contests makes the game more exciting and draws in fans. The NCAA bracket pools allow fans to compete along with the players. I myself didn't pay much attention to college basketball until senior year of high school when that guy with the sparkling blue eyes asked me to join his Final Four pool. When I did it, I began to learn a little about the teams, and I cared enough about the tournament to watch a few games on TV. By the end of the contest, I was hooked, and I now pay closer attention to college basketball each year. I get excited when my teams win, even if I have no clue who those players are, or where on earth Gonzaga is located.
Our society loves sports when it can find some way to identify with the players. Baseball is our national pastime because it is every man's game, and one does not have to have a specific body structure to rise to the top. Every person can't dream of being a basketball or football star, because you have to be either tall or husky for those sports. But you do not have to be perfect for college basketball, and the fact that players are young and make a few mistakes makes them more like us, the average population.
