5 ways for a girl to prepare for the 'Madness'
It’s March and the madness is setting in. If you are like I was when I started college, you do not understand the method to your guy friends’ (or some of your girl friends’) madness. In fact, it’s downright annoying. However, maybe this is your year to learn about the wonderfully addictive creature that is college basketball.
Say what? Join the maddening movement that has all of your guy friends talking basketball for a whole entire month? Yes. You know what they say -- if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
Don’t hate the players. . .or the game
While it is quite easy to get very tired of hearing people constantly talking about their favorite basketball players and the scores of the March Madness games, listen to what they are saying.
This sounds like a dating lesson from “Hitch,” but it’s true. If you do not listen to who the good players and teams are, you will not get it…at all. It is important to understand who the players are, what team they play for and their strengths and weaknesses. Even if you know just their names and teams, if someone brings a player up, at least you can sound like you know what your friend is talking about.
Another thing that really got me into March Madness was understanding that the players were my age and from rival universities. It does help when your university had Jimmer Fredette on their team last year and played as part of the Madness. However, it is unnecessary, and you can still be a die-hard fan.
The rules behind the Madness
If you think a free throw is an opportunity to throw something at your guy friends’ TV after they lose a bet, you thought wrong. Even if your college or university doesn’t have a pony in the race, it’s still important to understand the method to the Madness.
Have a friend who has played or watched basketball explain the rules and fouls of basketball. Often, the frustration with March Madness is simply not understanding the rules. Once you understand and watch a game or two with patient friends that will explain what everything is, you’re in business.
Some guys will get fussy if you keep fighting to ask too many questions over the sound of the game. However, if you explain ahead of time your want to be converted to the Madness, most fans will jump at the opportunity.
The racket over the bracket
If you have never seen a March Madness bracket, maybe it’s time to fill one out. While they may look more complex than a subway map, they’re actually fairly easy to understand. Just get a friend to sit down with you and help you. It can also be really satisfying when you beat your guy friends at their own game.
However, I offer a warning: The first year I made my bracket, a guy friend who knew the teams helped me out. While I picked almost the same line-up he picked for his bracket, I picked Duke to win the final game which automatically made me the winner in his friends’ bracket competition. Needless to say, I have not gotten any help with a bracket since then.
Take a side
While you are attending college, chances are that your school has a basketball team. Even if they do not, you probably have friends at a school that does. Pick a team, and study their players.
One of the best ways to catch the fever is to find a team and not be a fair weather fan. If your team gets beaten, pick another team or favorite player. There is nothing better than being able to cheer a long with 20,000 other fans. I think this feeling of unity is what really gives people the Madness come March.
Boom goes the dynamite
Get excited over amazing or painful plays. If someone scores a basket from half court or even breaks another guy’s leg, be there for it. Feeling the sweat and heat of the moment is what makes it real.
Katie Mussmann is a Spring 2012 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.