Why March is Madness

Inside Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, the seconds ticked off the clock. How could this possibly be happening? Middle Tennessee State, a 15 seed, was not just beating second-seeded Michigan State - they were controlling them. Upsets happen every year in the NCAA Tournament, but 15 seeds beating two seeds are about as rare as finding a Skip Bayless fan. There just aren't very many. But as the final seconds passed, the mighty Michigan State Spartans were defeated.

And millions of brackets were busted less than 36 hours into the tournament.

More than 13 million brackets were submitted on ESPN.com this year and roughly 40 million Americans filled out a bracket. Zero have a perfect one heading into the Final Four. Upsets like Middle Tennessee State, Arkansas Little Rock, Hawaii and Yale made sure of that, but what keeps people coming back? What makes March Madness so appealing?

There's something about the NCAA Tournament that brings people together. Head to the water cooler at work on the Friday morning of the first round games and the conversation will certainly revolve around the tournament. People who haven't watched a game all year will fill out a bracket and everyone from President Obama to Tim McGraw will weigh in on who they feel will cut down the nets. Every year there are pleas for the Thursday and Friday of the first round to be deemed national holidays, and 14 percent of fans in a Yahoo Sports poll said they take sick days to stay home and watch.

Picking a bracket is an impossible task. Busted brackets are the norm and every year people get frustrated when an upset hurts their chances of winning. Money is lost, pride is hurt and a chance at bragging rights is crushed. How is your friend's wife who knows nothing about hoops beating you in the pool? It's March.

But we keep coming back. Here's why: March Madness never fails to entertain us. You might have picked Texas, yet you can't help but go crazy when Paul Jesperson drains a half court shot to give Northern Iowa the win. Perhaps you have a buddy that goes to Purdue so you picked the Boilers, but when UALR's Josh Hagins cans a three to send the game to overtime you forget about the bracket. Your girlfriend's family is from Cincinnati so you went with Cincinnati and Xavier, but you still revel in the madness when St. Joseph's and Wisconsin win at the buzzer.

Syracuse? You had them losing in the first round, but there's something about a 10-seed in the Final Four that makes you not care so much. That's the beauty of March Madness. The matchups that it creates and the Cinderella stories that are written keep us coming back year after year. Who will etch their name into college basketball lore? The tournament has a way of creating legends and we can't help but watch it unfold. No one wants to miss the moment.

So, you might have ripped up your bracket by Friday afternoon of the first round. But next year when Selection Sunday passes, you and those other 40 million Americans will be coming right back to fill out a bracket and watch. 

Because March is madness and we can't get enough.