March Madness 2013
There’s a moving scene in the first season of “The West Wing” in which Toby convinces President Bartlet to cut from his State of the Union Address a line that reads, “The era of big government is over.” Toby admits that it’s a catchy slogan that will give Bartlet a bump in the polls, but he’s sickened at the thought of disparaging the federal machine solely to score political points. “Government can be a place where people come together and where no one gets left behind,” he pleads, and as string music swells to support the truth of his words, Bartlet turns to Josh Lyman and asks him what he thinks. Josh considers briefly, then answers, “I make it a point never to disagree with Toby when he’s right.”
March Madness, too, is a place where (or at least a time when) people come together. Pools are illegally filled out, Internet traffic booms, productivity stalls, and across the nation the conversation turns to whether Gonzaga really deserved a #1 seed, or whether Bucknell can flip the script on Butler. But while the era of big government may not be over, the era of top-tier dominance in college basketball is assuredly extinct. With the game’s most talented players fleeing for the NBA after a single season, collegiate teams struggle to build any sort of chemistry, as frustrated coaches ultimately allow scheme and strategy to yield to on-floor talent. (This also might explain why most close games are invariably decided by either (a) free-throw shooting, or (b) a final possession in which the team’s best player dribbles for 25 seconds, then heaves up a step-back, off-balance three-pointer.) Setting aside Gonzaga (a team with its own unique set of question marks), every legitimate contender for the 2013 title has lost at least five games. There’s just no such thing as an elite team anymore. Read More