Five Reasons to Love March Madness

So I have to admit, I’m a big fan of the month of March. So many great things happen in the third month of the calendar year — the first official day of spring, St. Patrick’s Day, Daylight Saving Time, MLB’s spring training, spring break and the start of swimwear season! But for me, above all those wonderful reasons is March Madness — the annual three-week long tournament that crowns college basketball’s champion.

Whether you’re a self-proclaimed expert or you know next-to-nothing about sports … whether you’ve been following your team since November or you haven’t paid attention until now, the NCAA March Madness Tournament, with its blue-blooded teams and bracket-busting cinderellas, captivates the whole country!  So here are five reasons why we love March Madness.

1) March Madness begins with 68 teams. That’s more teams with a chance to “win it all” than the number of teams who participate in the playoffs for Major League Baseball, the NBA and the NFL combined. With a field of 68 teams — each with heart, passion and hope — it’s hard not to find one or two to cheer for in the tournament.

2) Bracketology. There is something exhilarating about filling our your bracket, which no doubt will be busted by the end of the first weekend. But trust me when I say yours isn’t the only one. This year, Quicken Loans sponsored a “Billion Dollar Bracket” contest that would reward a perfectly-filled-out bracket with $1,000,000,000. Easier said than done, though, because no perfect brackets remained after the first weekend of the tournament. Better luck next year!

3) March Madness is David verses Goliath. And David wins more than you’d expect. March Madness pits your perennial power houses like Kansas, UCLA, North Carolina, Arizona, and Michigan State against teams like Dayton, Butler, Bucknell, Norfolk State and Mercer. Americans love to see upsets and they love to cheer for the underdog. Much to the chagrin of the Goliaths, March Madness delivers both. Every year. Without fail. It’s all part of the magic — and madness.

4) Of course, the high-stakes nature of March Madness can be a recipe for heartbreak. You either win and advance, or you go home. There is no “best out of seven” during March Madness. If you lose, you’re out. And with that harsh reality, players and coaches give it their all just to survive. As fans, we get to see that intensity play out on the court. We get to see and experience the jubilation of a win and the absolute heartbreak of a loss. It is that emotional element that really draws people to March Madness.

5) For those of you still not convinced of the virtues of March Madness, we give you the Hapari Madness Tankini Tournament! From March 20 - April 5, Hapari is pitting tankini against tankini in head-to-head match-ups on our Facebook page. Fans vote for their favorite tankini to advance. At it stands now, we've got the Red Diamond Dot Twist vs. the Mikado Hibiscus Scoop and the SunStripe Seaside vs. Denim Dancing Leaves Classic Bandeau all vying for a spot in the championship match, which will be held on April 5.