March Madness, the madness of March basketball.  The best time of the first quarter of the year.  There’s nothing better than the weather getting warmer, the snow melting, and some really entertaining basketball.  There’s a thrill to March Madness but also an inherent stress.  The thrill of watching entertaining, down to the wire basketball games. Along with that comes the stress of guessing the outcomes of games and joining all different groups for brackets.  There is a lot that goes into a bracket and a lot on the line, potentially winning millions of dollars.  March Madness brackets are like glass, one wrong guess and Crash! Your bracket is busted. 

There is a lot of money in March Madness. Warren Buffett explains how his company's bracket challenge works, “Last year, it’s true the favorites got knocked out early. But, we did split — there’s a $100,000 consolation prize for whoever does the best.”  As you can tell there is big money in March Madness which is what leads to a highly competitive atmosphere.  With the format of March Madness revolving around a single elimination bracket it allows for many upsets.  For example when the number 16 seeded UMBC beat the number 1 seed Virginia in 2018.  The only time in the history that a 16 seed had beat a 1 seed in the tournament.

March Madness can also be a bonding event as well.  Ask any person you see and many of them will say they have filled out a bracket or know someone who has filled out a bracket.  March Madness brings people together through bracket groups at jobs, local bars/restaurants, and even within families.  March Madness is a time for people to get together and enjoy the peak of college basketball whether they have money on the line or not.