Roger's Blog
A place to put my thoughts...
NCAA Basketball Tournament & NCAA Pix
04/09/24 02:19 PM
I love college basketball. I could make the ridiculous statement, as some do, that the fact that I am from Indiana is why it is in my blood. However, basketball is loved all over the world, and I refuse to believe that fans from Indiana have any more stake to this claim than any other fans.
I attended Indiana University and, during the 1979-1980 season, I lived in a dorm room across the hall from Isiah Thomas. No, I never really met Isiah or knew him at all. He was busy in his world, and I was busy in mine. In fact, at the time, I didn't really know how great a basketball player he was, as my college basketball knowledge at that point was minimal. I did overhear some interesting conversations when he invited other members of the basketball team over to his dorm room but, beyond that, I didn't try to get to know him. However, this was the year I truly began to fall in love with college basketball. It didn't hurt that IU won the national championship the next year, as Isiah was in the process of becoming a superstar.
I'll never forget the night of the 1981 championship game for three reasons. For those of you too young to remember, the game was almost postponed because there had been an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan earlier in the day by John Hinckley, Jr. It was a tense day but the decision was made to play the game in spite of the situation after it was reported that President Reagan had scribbled a post-surgery note stating, "All in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia," which was the location of the championship game. This, combined with the news that the president's prognosis for a complete recovery was good, was enough for the NCAA to choose to move forward with the game that night. The country was ready for some stress relief, and college basketball was going to provide it.
The second reason that night was unforgettable was because of the environment in which I watched the game. I had been invited to a party at a friend's house to watch the game. What made it so unique was the fact that they had set up a TV in every room in the house, including the kitchen and bathroom. Therefore, regardless of where you were in the house, you wouldn't miss a minute of the game. Yes, I watched part of the game in the bathroom due to poor bathroom planning.
The third reason was the experience in Bloomington after the Hoosiers had won the game. We were within walking distance of the downtown area, and that's where everyone headed. Everywhere you went, people were hugging and yelling and celebrating. Everyone loved everyone that night. People were cruising down the street in their cars, hanging out of their windows, occasionally catching and hanging onto people who would jump into their arms, in effect "carrying" them down the street. The only other experience I've had of being that connected to thousands of people at once has been at the Indy 500 on race day (more on that in my next blog).
Ever since then, I have enjoyed watching college basketball. At first, it was mostly Big Ten basketball, since that's primarily who I saw playing against IU. Back then, channel 4 out of Indianapolis/Bloomington carried every IU game, which fed into my love and appreciation for the game. Eventually, I began enjoying watching other teams from other conferences, especially during the annual NCAA tournament. 1987 was the first year I decided to fill out a tournament bracket. Of course, as a homer, I naturally picked IU to win it all, and I was fortunate enough to be correct. (Unfortunately, that hasn't happened since.) That year, I correctly picked 75% of the winners in that tournament, and I was hooked. At that point, I decided I would fill out a bracket every year. That's when the addiction started.
Nine years later, I decided to buy software to track my picks as well as my friends' picks. In 1996, the NCAA Pix Tournament was born. My friends Mark and Jerry and myself, along with Jerry's brother, Jeff, started the competition. I even had a pewter mug, affectionately known as the Suds Mug, engraved with our tournament logo, with the plan of engraving each year's winner and passing the mug along to the winner, allowing them to use it until next year's tournament. The next year, I added of friend of mine to our group and Jerry added a friend of his. My friend won the tournament, received the Suds Mug and promptly disappeared, taking the Suds Mug with him. So, Suds Mug the second was engraved, and we started all over. This went on many years until it became a real pain every year to get the mug engraved, shipped off to the winner, along with the follow-up (and often multiple attempts) to get the mug back in time to get to the following year's winner. Unfortunately, that tradition stopped, although I still have that mug around here somewhere.
The tournament had gotten up to as many as 32 people (in 2012) but about that time, I decided it would be a cool idea to set up a tournament for my company's customers, allowing them to win free prizes to promote our company and share our love for college basketball. We eventually moved to free gift cards for the top 20 finishers, and eventually moved that 40. It quickly became popular with our customers, and soon I was not only running my personal tournament but also the company tournament for around 300 total people. Then, I decided I should add to the work by running a staff tournament. Now I'm up to 3 different tournaments and tracking close to 400 players. As IU's women's basketball became one of the best in the country, it was a "no-brainer" to add another competition for the women's tournament; one each for the customers and staff. Suddenly, I'm running 5 tournaments, with a total of around 600 players, and I'm struggling to pay any attention to my own tournament, which started seeing a large decrease in participation. While I eventually got up to over 700 total players between the five tournaments, my own tournament was struggling to keep a dozen players involved. 2023 was my last company tournament year, as I retired in August of that year.
Now, I'm down to just focusing on my own tournament, and I'm back to loving the tournament and loving the games. There's something special about the "one and done" concept, which allows any team to have a great game and beat a team they normally couldn't. The upsets are what I enjoy the most but, because of that, my picks are often not very successful. I tend to pick too many upsets, which keeps me in the running longer but usually results in my elimination and ultimately low score. I have won my tournament twice but it's been many years since my last win. Jeff, Jerry's brother that started with us back in 1996, has won the most tournaments, at six! Even though I don't win, I truly enjoy managing the tournament and updating the scores. I tend to watch at least a little, and often a lot more than a little, of every game in the tournament. In the process, I watch a lot of great basketball. The college game is reaching a level of parity that makes almost every game in the tournament worth watching, and you can't ask for much more as a fan.
If you like to watch the tournament and want to try your hand at making picks in our tournament, use the "NCAA Pix Tournament" link in the drop-down menu at the top of this page and give it a try. We just finished the 2024 season but, like every year until I can't, we're returning for another year in March. I think you'll enjoy yourself. We include several people who aren't totally into the tournament but still have fun making picks. I encourage you to give it a try. I hope to see you there next year!
Until my next entry…
I attended Indiana University and, during the 1979-1980 season, I lived in a dorm room across the hall from Isiah Thomas. No, I never really met Isiah or knew him at all. He was busy in his world, and I was busy in mine. In fact, at the time, I didn't really know how great a basketball player he was, as my college basketball knowledge at that point was minimal. I did overhear some interesting conversations when he invited other members of the basketball team over to his dorm room but, beyond that, I didn't try to get to know him. However, this was the year I truly began to fall in love with college basketball. It didn't hurt that IU won the national championship the next year, as Isiah was in the process of becoming a superstar.
I'll never forget the night of the 1981 championship game for three reasons. For those of you too young to remember, the game was almost postponed because there had been an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan earlier in the day by John Hinckley, Jr. It was a tense day but the decision was made to play the game in spite of the situation after it was reported that President Reagan had scribbled a post-surgery note stating, "All in all, I'd rather be in Philadelphia," which was the location of the championship game. This, combined with the news that the president's prognosis for a complete recovery was good, was enough for the NCAA to choose to move forward with the game that night. The country was ready for some stress relief, and college basketball was going to provide it.
The second reason that night was unforgettable was because of the environment in which I watched the game. I had been invited to a party at a friend's house to watch the game. What made it so unique was the fact that they had set up a TV in every room in the house, including the kitchen and bathroom. Therefore, regardless of where you were in the house, you wouldn't miss a minute of the game. Yes, I watched part of the game in the bathroom due to poor bathroom planning.
The third reason was the experience in Bloomington after the Hoosiers had won the game. We were within walking distance of the downtown area, and that's where everyone headed. Everywhere you went, people were hugging and yelling and celebrating. Everyone loved everyone that night. People were cruising down the street in their cars, hanging out of their windows, occasionally catching and hanging onto people who would jump into their arms, in effect "carrying" them down the street. The only other experience I've had of being that connected to thousands of people at once has been at the Indy 500 on race day (more on that in my next blog).
Ever since then, I have enjoyed watching college basketball. At first, it was mostly Big Ten basketball, since that's primarily who I saw playing against IU. Back then, channel 4 out of Indianapolis/Bloomington carried every IU game, which fed into my love and appreciation for the game. Eventually, I began enjoying watching other teams from other conferences, especially during the annual NCAA tournament. 1987 was the first year I decided to fill out a tournament bracket. Of course, as a homer, I naturally picked IU to win it all, and I was fortunate enough to be correct. (Unfortunately, that hasn't happened since.) That year, I correctly picked 75% of the winners in that tournament, and I was hooked. At that point, I decided I would fill out a bracket every year. That's when the addiction started.
Nine years later, I decided to buy software to track my picks as well as my friends' picks. In 1996, the NCAA Pix Tournament was born. My friends Mark and Jerry and myself, along with Jerry's brother, Jeff, started the competition. I even had a pewter mug, affectionately known as the Suds Mug, engraved with our tournament logo, with the plan of engraving each year's winner and passing the mug along to the winner, allowing them to use it until next year's tournament. The next year, I added of friend of mine to our group and Jerry added a friend of his. My friend won the tournament, received the Suds Mug and promptly disappeared, taking the Suds Mug with him. So, Suds Mug the second was engraved, and we started all over. This went on many years until it became a real pain every year to get the mug engraved, shipped off to the winner, along with the follow-up (and often multiple attempts) to get the mug back in time to get to the following year's winner. Unfortunately, that tradition stopped, although I still have that mug around here somewhere.
The tournament had gotten up to as many as 32 people (in 2012) but about that time, I decided it would be a cool idea to set up a tournament for my company's customers, allowing them to win free prizes to promote our company and share our love for college basketball. We eventually moved to free gift cards for the top 20 finishers, and eventually moved that 40. It quickly became popular with our customers, and soon I was not only running my personal tournament but also the company tournament for around 300 total people. Then, I decided I should add to the work by running a staff tournament. Now I'm up to 3 different tournaments and tracking close to 400 players. As IU's women's basketball became one of the best in the country, it was a "no-brainer" to add another competition for the women's tournament; one each for the customers and staff. Suddenly, I'm running 5 tournaments, with a total of around 600 players, and I'm struggling to pay any attention to my own tournament, which started seeing a large decrease in participation. While I eventually got up to over 700 total players between the five tournaments, my own tournament was struggling to keep a dozen players involved. 2023 was my last company tournament year, as I retired in August of that year.
Now, I'm down to just focusing on my own tournament, and I'm back to loving the tournament and loving the games. There's something special about the "one and done" concept, which allows any team to have a great game and beat a team they normally couldn't. The upsets are what I enjoy the most but, because of that, my picks are often not very successful. I tend to pick too many upsets, which keeps me in the running longer but usually results in my elimination and ultimately low score. I have won my tournament twice but it's been many years since my last win. Jeff, Jerry's brother that started with us back in 1996, has won the most tournaments, at six! Even though I don't win, I truly enjoy managing the tournament and updating the scores. I tend to watch at least a little, and often a lot more than a little, of every game in the tournament. In the process, I watch a lot of great basketball. The college game is reaching a level of parity that makes almost every game in the tournament worth watching, and you can't ask for much more as a fan.
If you like to watch the tournament and want to try your hand at making picks in our tournament, use the "NCAA Pix Tournament" link in the drop-down menu at the top of this page and give it a try. We just finished the 2024 season but, like every year until I can't, we're returning for another year in March. I think you'll enjoy yourself. We include several people who aren't totally into the tournament but still have fun making picks. I encourage you to give it a try. I hope to see you there next year!
Until my next entry…