March Madness

If you have been paying attention to news from the United States, you may have heard some mention of March Madness. And you might be wondering, what is March Madness? Is it some sort of contagious disease spreading across the United States?

What I’m going to tell you may be either more exciting than a disease or a lot less exciting, depending on your interest in sports. Sensing the disappointment of some, I offer my deepest apologies to those of you who were hoping to read about a topic more on the epidemiological side of things.

The term March Madness is used to refer informally to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Men’s Division I Basketball Championship held every spring in the U.S.  It is known as March Madness because most of the tournament takes place in the month of March. Interestingly, you may also hear the tournament referred to as “the Big Dance,” or just “the tournament.”

The championship is a single elimination tournament that features 68 college basketball teams.   Thirty-one of the teams are champions from Division I conferences (used here to refer to regional championships), and the remaining 37 teams are selected by the NCAA based on several factors, including team rankings and win-loss records.

When only 16 teams remain, it is called the “sweet sixteen;” when only 8 teams remain, it is referred to as the “elite eight;” when the last 4 teams are left, it is the “final four.”

Many college basketball fans in the U.S. like to try to predict which teams will win and lose by filling out their own tournament brackets. Some even place friendly wagers at their workplace by betting in the office pool.

Vocabulary

w  March = marzo

w  madness = locura

w  disease = enfermedad

w  exciting = emocionante

w  disappointment = decepción

w  championship = campeonato

w  remaining = restantes

w  elite = élite

w  predict = predecir

w  wager = apuesta

w  pool = como quinielas