I used to absolutely despise the first two rounds of March Madness. I didn't like the little school upsets when I didn't feel they deserved to be there in the first place. I couldn't, and still can't, stand the constant-yelling, over-hyped Gus Johnson. The quality of basketball pales in comparison to the NBA, and the hype never matched up with the experience of watching the NCAA tournament.That's just the way I felt. Like it or leave it, you can't change it.
This year, things have changed.
I found myself engaged more so than previous years. The "every game is on a channel" could not have worked better. They staggered the games. When one game ended, you could flip to another channel where the first 36 minutes of dryness was skipped, leaving only 4 tense, juicy minutes. Maybe this feeling manifested itself solely to spite Eric's irrational idea that one game on one channel was somehow better for watching the tournament. But, the important thing is, I found myself actually getting excited to watch the first two rounds.
I still couldn't stand Gus Johnson. Luckily, I had control over the remote, and the mute button worked perfectly. I was back in Mequon for most of the games, and Gus is viewed as a nuisance in Wisconsin's greatest city. He isn't the absurd, divine, god of the microphone that some of my roommates worship him as. The overwhelming hatred of Gus was trumped by my favorite new addition to the NCAA tournament family.
Sir Charles Barkley has made me want to watch the tournament again. Actually, Sir Charles Barkley has made me want to watch the 15 minutes before and after every game. His quotes throughout the tournament has left my friends and I laughing. Here are a couple good ones: "TruTV, please stop showing Speed 2 after the game" to "Leverage is a good show (rolls his eyes)" to my personal favorite "I hope they get this game over quick so I can get the hell out of here." The producer finally let Ernie work with Kenny and Charles, and I couldn't be happier. This is why TNT gets such good ratings. Sir Charles Barkley is AWESOME!
Charles and Kenny work magic when they are on the screen. Greg Anthony and Gumbel always look a combination of pissed/scared at what they are going to say. It is clear that Anthony does not like working with Sir Charles. Whoever thought that this experiment would be a failure is out of their minds. The producer should take a lesson from the TNT producer and throw his arms behind his head, kick his feet back, and say "do what you want fellas."
We are moving on the elite 8 with North Carolina still having a shot to get me 10 dollars from Colin. My bracket is shot to hell along with almost every other sad dope in America. But, I would have to label this tournament a success. As long as every game is on, Gus is muted, and Charles is shown every hour or so, count me in forever.
