Sam I Am: These battlescars after the Ides of March

There are not many days that can provide the feeling I had when I woke up this morning.

Well, there is always Christmas. The thoughts of Christmas tunes, snow, and gifts under the tree always make me smile.

Of course, the first day of summer comes pretty close. The feeling of not having to rush to that 7 a.m. class is nearly impossible to replicate.

My world seems so full of opportunity and hope.

I do not remember when exactly I caught this madness. The ceaseless ramblings of number one seeds and Cinderella teams. The endless list of sports websites filled with predictions and research. The eraser bits strewn over the dinner table. The rough draft, the second rough draft, the third, the fourth, and the final draft of my impeccable bracket.

All I know is that it will not ever go away.

The first March Madness games tip off on March 19, and it will be hard to escape the heightened emotions across the nation. People from all walks of life fill out brackets for family, friend, and office pools. Students, nurses, even professors take anywhere from ten minutes to ten days to fill out their bracket and compete in this seasonal rite of passage.

We love competition, and what better form of it is there than a three week playoff to decide a national champion?

For those of us with ties to specific universities, this time of year becomes especially frustrating. I would love to see my UCLA Bruins make a Cinderella run and snatch that NCAA championship. But does the potential victory pot of 100 dollars outweigh my loyalty and faith in those beloved Bruins? Decisions, decisions…

This sports craze also raises questions of the effects of March Madness. Productivity in work and school has been found to drop significantly in these last few weeks of March. That is not the only influence this basketball spectacle has though. Recently, researchers have looked into a college’s success in the tournament and its influence in the number of future applicants to that college.

Reading that, I thought, it’s just a game right?

However, Jaren Pope, a Cornell professor, found that after Cornell reached the Sweet 16 in 2010, the number of applicants increased by 5%. Overall, he discovered that schools reaching the Final Four had a 7% increase, while the champion college garnered a 9% spike in applicants.

That means, you underclassmen out there, beware. This NCAA tournament could quite possibly decide where you attend college.

With this shocking find, this irresistible tournament has become doubly as interesting and enticing for me. The ensuing ruckus over upsets and busted brackets is enough to entertain a crowd, but add in college decisions to this already insane craze?

Let the Madness begin.