The gym lights gleam like a beacon beam
And a million motors hum
In a good will flight on a Friday night;
For basketball beckons, "Come!"
A sharp-shooting mite is king tonight.
The madness of March is running.
--Excerpted from a poem about the Illinois High School Association's boys' basketball tournament
March Madness is in full effect. Growing up in Illinois, "March Madness" meant the Illinois State High School Athletic Association (ISHA) boy's basketball tournament. Then in 1982 Brent Musburger, who once worked in Chicago as a sports writer and then sports anchor, used the phrase in connection with the NCAA tournament. The phrase caught on. In the 1990s the ISHA sued the NCAA, but both parties agreed to a settlement in order to stop the legal madness.
Now it's full-on Madness. Insanity sells, I suppose, like the current Pontiac ad featuring a crazed Kansas fan abducting Bobby Knight.
Treating mental illness
If March Madness is a psychological condition, 99 out of 100 doctors agree "brackets" is the prescribed drug of choice. I am not a doctor, but I was wondering if we could treat the "Madness" more holistically, say by encouraging fans to passionately celebrate in a civilized, sensible, let's-not-run-over-Jim-Plunkett's-lovely wife kind of way?
Bad Marketing 101, but hopefully good blogging
Here's a not-so-brilliant marketing idea: How about March Moderation?
Moderation is a term often used by Coach John Wooden, the architect of one of -- if not the greatest -- sports dynasties of all time, who won excessive NCAA championships (10 in 12 years). "Coach" definitely favored moderation over delirium.
In the remaining days of March, the Money Players blog will honor Coach Wooden and others who have managed to keep their sanity (if not their jobs) in a basketball world gone mad.
Read Bill Bennett's article: My Journey with the Master Teacher and Coach
Comments