One of the best parts about working at KTAR is that not only are you allowed to watch the NCAA tournament, but you are actually encouraged to do so.

All day Thursday people at the office were glued to the TV or, in some cases, the online video stream, and the topic du jour was how our brackets were faring. Thinking about it, this must be what The Commish meant when he said his goal was “Improving office morale one bracket at a time.”

Because of the tournament, though, nobody was talking about the Diamondbacks, who had announced Mark Reynolds’ contract extension. No one seemed to care that the Cardinals had not signed Joey Porter yet or that Ken Whisenhunt finally said Matt Leinart is the team’s starting quarterback.

The Suns were not even spoken of, even though they were getting ready to face the Utah Jazz in a key late-season game. Even the Coyotes, who won their seventh straight game to set a franchise record for wins in a season, were an afterthought.

OK, maybe the last one would happen anyway (come on Arizona, get on board – the ‘Yotes are legit!), but all of it speaks to the power that is March Madness.

Personally, I’m not a huge college basketball fan. Outside of the Pac-10, my knowledge tends to be fairly shallow. There are way too many teams to follow to really know what is going on. But every year, when the field of 65 is announced, we are all devoted followers of all things NCAA hoops who know exactly why we selected each team in our bracket (or in some cases, brackets).

What other sport can do that?

Everyone watches the Super Bowl, but how many are really just doing it for the commercials? Outside of KTAR’s Garret Heinrich I don’t think anyone really watched the Winter Olympics. The NBA and NHL can’t compare, and I couldn’t tell you when the next World Cup is.

The funny thing is there is really no local connection to the tournament this year. The Wildcats didn’t make it and the Sun Devils were left out, yet we still find ourselves quite interested in the results of games involving schools we could not locate on a map. See Mom, sports can be educational.

Really, when you get down to it, we should all be thankful for March Madness. Sure, it may be stressful seeing one of your Final Four picks struggle in round one (I’m talking to you, Baylor) or even frustrating when you lose an Elite 8 team on the first day (really, Georgetown?), but at the end of the tournament you will at least have been entertained, possibly a bit wealthier, and definitely ready for a relaxing break.

Did someone say ‘play ball’?

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