Upset with the Lack of Upsets

UPDATE: Well, Norfolk State just gave me everything I could have asked for and more.  What a dominant performance from the Spartans from the game's first minute.  Most impressively, though, were the humble-yet-confident postgame interviews from the team's head coach and star player Kyle O'Quinn.  Wow.

While watching the first second round of the NCAA tournament today, I found myself rooting aggressively for #12 Long Beach State to win its game over #5 New Mexico.  But why?  Other than the fact that I think they might have the best uniforms in all of college basketball (see right), I have no particular allegience to the 49ers, the city of Long Beach, the Big West conference or any of the team's players. I also have nothing against the University of New Mexico - if anything, I like the fact that "Lobos" is Spanish for "Wolves." The only reason I was rooting for LBSU was because I wanted to see an upset.

In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the most exciting games should feature the 8's vs. the 9's or the 7's vs. the 10's - these are, after all, the closest matchups.  However, seeing a #10 or #9 pull an "upset" doesn't provide enough of an adrenaline rush.  At the opposite end of the spectrum, there isn't much excitement when watching a #1 play a #16 (although seeing Syracuse sweat out a close victory over UNC-Asheville was mildly entertaining), because top seeds literally don't lose (109-0 as of this writing).  It's the sweet-spot in between, however, that makes the first week of the NCAA tournament unlike anything else in American sports.  That's why there was no better way to wrap up a long afternoon than by watching #12's LBSU and Harvard hang tough against #5's New Mexico and Vanderbilt, respectively.

During the Syracuse game earlier in the day, the TV commentators noted that in the last few minutes of any close tournament game, the mostly-neutral fans suddenly become die-hard supporters of the underdog.  After spending year after year watching replays of Princeton over UCLA and Valparaiso over Ole' Miss, we all want to be a part of the next great March Madness upset.  Just being able to say that you were pulling for a #14 seed when they knocked off a #3 on the opening Thursday of the tournament is enough to turn seemingly passive college hoops fans into lunatics screaming for Belmont, Virginia Commonwealth or Bucknell.

On that note, I'm off to see if #12 VCU can finish off #5 Wichita State.  Enjoy the rest of the tournament's first few days.  Once we move into the second week and the bulk of the double-digit seeds have been sent home, we'll be longing for the previous week when we had the opportunity to root for schools like Loyola (MD), South Dakota State and Davidson.