During the opening games of the N.C.A.A. Men’s basketball tournament, the three week long tournament to determine the best team in the land, I sat myself in the “M” Lounge to watch the games on the large projector screen that was set specifically for this occasion.

A few others were gathered in there, but as the clock slowly wound down towards the end of the second half of the first games, a small crowd magically appeared to watch the closing seconds of the game. I even noticed some of the workers taking a peak for a few minutes.

I was recounting in my head the teams I had selected for my tournament bracket. I had selected Brigham Young to beat out Florida and Villanova over Robert Morris, which were the games playing at the moment.

As time wound down, everyone was bracing to see if anyone would make big plays in any of the games that were unfolding. The room would be dead quiet from all the tension building up in the room. When the clutch shots were made, people would jump up for joy or let out gasps of disappointment. Regardless of whoever wins or loses, each game is magical in its own right and makes everyone get up off their seats to prepare for the potential buzzer beater that could send the favorite pick crumbling down.

This past week has completely epitomized the phrase “March Madness,” as this tournament has been lovingly referred to. Teams like Georgetown, Villanova, Vanderbilt and Kansas fell to the lower-seeded teams that no one expected to see make it this far. Cornell, Northern Iowa, Saint Mary’s and Washington had to overcome good teams to make it this far and, while everyone loves a Cinderella team, anyone who has an N.C.A.A. bracket had it broken thanks to these and other teams. Of the over five million brackets made on ESPN.com, no one has a perfect board.

Some, like me, have sections where their team fell from the upper reaches of the bracket, now allowing them to root for Cornell to stun Kentucky or Saint Mary’s to beat Baylor.
This tournament has been filled with so many buzzer beaters and overtime games that the faint of heart could not handle this much stress. I love this time of year for all of the craziness and hype that is created by these games.

Regardless of if you are an avid basketball fan, or even a sports fan, you have to respect and honor this time of year. Every senior is playing his heart out, hoping to end his sports career with a championship win. You have to root for these players, hope for more buzzer beaters and enjoy watching each player play like he has nothing to lose.

 Even our president, as he’s signing his health care reform bill. is checking his bracket to see that his pick for the national champion, Kansas, lost to Northern Iowa, crippling his otherwise good bracket.

Bryan Manderscheid is a freshman engineering major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected]