They clung to the announcer's every word as they waited to fill out their brackets. With palms sweating, knees jittering, and knuckles cracking, the students flipped back and forth from ESPN to CBS trying to catch the first reactions of players from teams that received invitations to the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament. Sixty-four teams began competing yesterday in a single elimination tournament for the crown of the 2001 NCAA men's Basketball Champion. The 90-minute selection process transforms viewers into crazed fans for one month of the year. Cries of jubilation and screams of anguish echo throughout campus - and the country.
Hearts are even broken.
And it's just the beginning. I live and die for March Madness,' said junior Andrew Smith. Across the nation, millions of people like Smith compete in pools, or organized competitions, in offices, schools or among friends. They watch the tournament games religiously - from the dominant number one squads to the Cinderella teams to those squads on the bubble that barely made it in to the tournament. When Indiana University plays, Smith loses control.