I remember back when today was one of my top 5 favorite days of the year.

[CHOPTALK]

Right behind Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years.

I remember filling out over 100 brackets in 1 week in the past.
This year I forced myself to fill out 2.

Woke up this morning to do the Warren Buffet thing only to find out that they closed it already. WTF with that?
Thats the first time I have ever seen a bracket contest closed that soon.
I guess that Buffet was getting close 9 quadrillion entries and he was getting worried. LOL.

What would really suck is if I picked a perfect bracket with the next one I entered that only pays 10k.

But it really does not matter. I have the Ragin Cajuns going all the way to the final 4. LOL

I would call that the BB of my life if that happened.


I don't know what it is but somehow I don't enjoy this like I use to.

Does anyone else feel the same?
There was a time when I took vacation if I had to.

This year year I only care about 1 thing.

GO RAGIN CAJUNS!!!

 

[Betallsports]

Still a Great day IMO

You really can't beat it...

 

[TheFalls]

Don't be stupid! Although I'm not as hyped as I once was...mainly bec I haven't been betting much at all this year, I still realize that these are the best days of the year. Period.

But they have to stop expanding...that will kill this.

 

[CHOPTALK]

I know this is crazy but I kind of miss having all the games on CBS instead of spread out over 10 channels.

I can't get the overall feel for the entire tourney spread out on all the channels.

I kind of use to enjoy having everything on 1 channel where they would go back and forth between a bunch of games all day.

Now I find myself spending all kinds of time trying to figure out which channel I want it on.

Sure its nice to have that ability to watch a certain game from start to finish.

But for some reason I like it better the old way.

Sometimes less is more.

 

[Shub]

The older I get the less I care.

 

[packer2012]

You are "balls-on" accurate Chop.

There are just way too many channels out there now. And can someone please tell me.... when did they radically change the meaning of the word "reality".

 

[Shub]

Haha reality = scripted

 

[bigtendominator]

the older i get the less i care.

qft

 

[REDEYE]

If your in Vegas it still feels the same..all the games are right in front of you..best two days of the sports calender IMO

 

[Willie99]

CBB & ULL, LSU, Tulane, LA Tech just don't mix

adopt another team bitch (I used to in the 1980's)

 

[FairWarning]

I agree with you Chop. There is zero star power and that's what sells the tourney. There are always some team stories but all of the good players that you hear of in the tourney will be going into the nba draft after the season. Very few from a major program will play in 2+ tourneys.

 

[CarolinaKid]

they really need to stop the 1 and done kids, it hurting both the college and nba

 

[terps1313]

I know this is crazy but I kind of miss having all the games on CBS instead of spread out over 10 channels.

I can't get the overall feel for the entire tourney spread out on all the channels.

I kind of use to enjoy having everything on 1 channel where they would go back and forth between a bunch of games all day.

Now I find myself spending all kinds of time trying to figure out which channel I want it on.

Sure its nice to have that ability to watch a certain game from start to finish.

But for some reason I like it better the old way.

Sometimes less is more.

You gotta be joking. I remember I would always get the worst game like a 16 vs 1. And it would take the 1 seed being up 30 pts before they finally switched to another game. I do agree not the same as when I was younger.

 

[Horseshoe]

When I was younger, I preferred the NCAA tourney over conference tourneys, both of which required having a satellite and multiple analog tubes to catch regional action. But, as a collegian and into my twenties, working in my father's and/or uncle's offices, both had big dishes and at least six to eight-plus tvs in the wall(my credenza has eight tvs plus three monitors on my desk)..friends, neighbors, BMs/Gamblers always loved sitting in over those tourney weeks for all the viewing.

I quickly learned that wiseguy's and sharp's conference tourney system plays, revenge plays, match ups, rivalry, familiarity angles were generally stronger than the oft Big Dance grab bag of mismatches. I would rate conference tourney week as five of the sportsbetting calendar's best 30 to 40 days of opportunity yearly, and has a stronger consistency vs NCAA action due to revenge dog system plays,etc..

As for gambling, the lines were softer, staler, and the smartmarks/info much more plentiful..1980s/1990s > Today. As for viewing, the games are all televised in entirety and in realtime, tvs are bigger, cheaper, and HD incredible..Today > 1980s/1990s.

Chop, don't you remember CBS leaving you to watch NCAA #1 seed routs, and needing to cut away to buzzer beaters only in final minute, or making you catch Lakers-Sixers Game 6 1980 on tape delay(due to Dukes of Hazard and Dallas Friday night reruns)..

I'd trade all the flat screens and channels for an old analog tube, but only if it came with Jamie Thompson and Buddy Othick plays, on into soft stale vulnerable local BMs(not armed with line service or PPH in realtime), while watching savvy senior-laden teams full of 21 and 22 year old players..

Time marches on!

 

[TheWolf]

I think it changes as you age Chop.

I still enjoy it but not like I used to 10 years ago.....

For one, there used to be 6-7 of us that would call off work Thurs/Fri and spend all day and night drinking and eating for two straight days, then do it again Sat/Sun on opening weekend.

Now, everyone is married with kids or has moved out of state. Now, there are only two of us who usually take a 1/2 day Friday and go watch the afternoon games. It's sad, but thats the way it is nowadays.

I too used to fill out like 30 pools every year. It changed for me when I finally won a big one in 2009. Then, it was like it wasnt a challenge anymore. I still filled out 10 pools this year, but spent no time doing it. In fact, I filled them out Wed night / Thurs morning. IN the old days I would wake up at 7AM while in college to be sure I got a copy of the USA Today out of the machine Monday morning before they sold out! I'd spend 3.5 days compiling stats and numbers ,etc...... Not anymore. LOL.

 

[honzie]

I'm with Choptalk on all of this. NCAA coverage peaked in 1990 when you would watch the primary game and they would have 2 other games simultaneously in the right corners. IF one of the other games was at a critical point, they would switch over to that game for a minute or so and then go back to original game.

The beauty of this was there were hardly any commercials. Now I find when I switch to one of 4 channels there is a 50% chance of seeing any live action vs an ad! That is crazy and improbable, I don't know how they pull this off. It was much better theater back then. If I had the same setup as Horseshoe I might feel differently but the overabundance of commercials takes the soul out of the broadcast.

 

[WorldNumberOne]

The older I get the less I care.

This..

I also dont have as much interest as I did back in the 80's and early 90's, because kids dont stick around 4 years. I think the greatest thing that could ever happen to college and pro ball is if kids were forced to stay 4 years.

The NBA would be so much better off if they just made a rule that they would only draft kids who stayed in school for 4 years.

 

[Jstack34]

This..

I also dont have as much interest as I did back in the 80's and early 90's, because kids dont stick around 4 years. I think the greatest thing that could ever happen to college and pro ball is if kids were forced to stay 4 years.

The NBA would be so much better off if they just made a rule that they would only draft kids who stayed in school for 4 years.

Why not just make the kids stay in college 8 years while we are at it? Make them super smart and let them really develop their game?

 

[WorldNumberOne]

Why not just make the kids stay in college 8 years while we are at it? Make them super smart and let them really develop their game?

were you a college basketball fan in the 70's and 80's ? was some real good stuff with most kids playing 4 years.

 

[PatsFan1283]

This..

I also dont have as much interest as I did back in the 80's and early 90's, because kids dont stick around 4 years. I think the greatest thing that could ever happen to college and pro ball is if kids were forced to stay 4 years.

The NBA would be so much better off if they just made a rule that they would only draft kids who stayed in school for 4 years.

Not sure why people equate staying in school to getting better at basketball.

Most pro personel people seem to think DLeague/Minor league would do a much better job developing players than college.

Also as someone who supports the American dream, capitalism and all that good stuff, I'd have a hard time denying someone from the age of 18-22 the chance to earn millions of dollars so the NCAA can profit off them.