March Madness is here. Once again, we marvel at the abilities of collegiate student-athletes on the basketball court. We eagerly note their trend-setting hairstyles and tattoos. We seek the answer to that vexing question - "Who thought that knee-length baggy shorts look good?"
There is a disturbing note to this year's March Madness. Once again, the Tournament has four geographical regions - East, South, Midwest, and West, but the geographical knowledge of the NCAA Committee is questionable. The first round of the East Regional is set for Buffalo, NY which is OK, but also in New Orleans, Jacksonville, and San Jose, CA. Now New Orleans and Jacksonville are at least east of the Mississippi, but San Jose is east of only Hawaii. Did some of our NCAA commissioners call in sick the day when the big map of the USA went on the board in Geography class?
The South Regional begins in Providence, RI and Spokane, WA along with New Orleans and Jacksonville. Try ordering hush puppies and grits in Providence and Spokane, Southerners. The West Regional opens in Buffalo which is a far cry from the sun, sand, and beaches that we associate with the Golden West. The Midwest Regional initially plays in Providence and Spokane as well which are about as far east and west as you can get from the Midwest and still be in North America.
Now, the Regional Finals take place in Syracuse (East), Houston (South), St Louis (Midwest), and Salt Lake City (West) and the Tournament is seeded 1 through 64 regardless of geography, so the whole East, South, Midwest, West thing doesn't matter. Still, what message are we sending to our youth when presumably educated college sports administrators imply that San Jose is East, Providence is South, and Buffalo is West?
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