Let the madness of March begin

The brackets are out, the much-anticipated field of 68 is set, and the NCAA college basketball tournament is finally ready to begin!

The annual March Madness basketball fever has taken hold here in Chicago, and the hoops-infested fun and games begin in earnest this Thursday. (Note, a few play-in games are played Tuesday and Wednesday).

This first weekend is wild—a little like battlefield triage. Teams get knocked out in this unforgiving one-and-done elimination contest rapidly, with multiple games playing simultaneously featuring a dizzying array of wild last-second shots, surprise finishes, upset specials, and powerhouse teams advancing.

The first 4-day extravaganza then concludes this Sunday, with all of us catching our collective breaths, looking at the brackets, and suddenly realizing that there are only 16 teams left. Yep, after all the initial hoopla and all the anticipation, in a rather short period of time (short but hectic!), the field of 68 teams will be sliced down to a much leaner 16 remaining squads.

The surviving Sweet Sixteen will then get a brief chance to rest before starting the fun and games again next Thursday (March 23rd if you are keeping score at home) and then playing for the right to make the coveted "Final Four."

So, this week, look around you. You will surely see plenty of jackets, sweatshirts, caps, and other items proudly worn by Chicagoans of all ages, all featuring the logo and colors of their favorite schools or alma maters. In addition, bars and restaurants will be extra packed and extra energized this weekend, with numerous games going on at the same time. Bartenders, in particular, will have to be adept at switching channels on the fly or making sure different screens show different games to please the avid hoop fan patrons in attendance.

As far as specific teams? The usual "Blue Bloods" will be there. Defending champion Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, Arizona, Michigan State, UConn, and Gonzaga will take their rightful place at the top of many bracket sheets.

Some new elite members of more recent vintage will also be bumped to the top of many brackets, as they well deserve. Schools in this category include Houston, Marquette, Alabama, Xavier, Baylor, and Purdue.

Special mention to our local entries: the surprising Northwestern Wildcats and the somewhat schizophrenic (you are never sure which team will show up) Illinois Fighting Illini. Both teams have strong Chicago bases and alumni associations, so expect to see plenty of purple, orange, and blue around town this week.

Worthy of mentioning is that the North Carolina Tar Heels, a usual top-five ball club team and, more importantly, the participants in last year's championship game, didn't even make the tournament! A shocker of rather large proportions.

Finally, lest we forget the unsung smaller schools coming from leagues and conferences that most of us are unfamiliar with, the beloved "Cinderellas" as they are often referred to, are really the ones that make this tournament so special.

These small schools finally have their moment to shine, with their fans cheering them on with raucous enthusiasm, and inevitably at least a couple of them will pull off upsets and shock the basketball world ( as well as destroy most folks brackets) with stunning upsets over the bigger, heavily favored elite school powerhouses.

Teams that won their tournaments this year that have qualified as certified "Cinderella" teams include the likes of Furman, Colgate, Louisiana, Drake, UNC Asheville, Vermont, Florida Atlantic, Northern Kentucky, Charleston, and Kennesaw State.

So batten down the hatches, get all your work out of the way early this week, and get ready for all the action. Starting Thursday, there will undoubtedly be some extra long lunch breaks from our working crowd here in Chicago as they head to their favorite establishment to catch all the craziness of these first four days of March Madness.

Of course, no one knows the final ending. Who will survive and eventually win is a mystery that will only be known the night of the Championship Monday, April 3rd.

The only sure thing is that it will be incredibly exciting, with plenty of surprises and dramatic and emotional moments along the way. Good theatre almost guaranteed.

Oh, and my pick to win it all?

Boiler up! The kids from West Lafayette, Indiana, will bring home the hardware.