Of course, many of the teams already know they have clinched a berth, either through winning their own conference or simply being a national powerhouse who had at the very least a decent season. For these teams, the announcement simply tells them who they are playing and where they are going. Everyone else sits on pins and needles, wondering if they are going at all. But in reality, no one really wants to end up there. I often feel bad when the camera shifts to a losing team's bench in the closing seconds of their elimination from the tournament.
Tears often flow - jocks have feelings too.
There is high drama, four days before the first game even begins. A commercial ends, and the host reappears to announce the final group of teams headed to the tournament. Young men are gathered together with their teammates in locker rooms or restaurants, huddled around a television, fingers crossed, perhaps even offering silent prayers. These boys are accustomed to winning or losing on a basketball court, with a ball in their hands. But then they see their dreams die, on a TV screen, before they even reached the starting line.