How Excited Are You for the National Championship Game?
Photo: collegefootballnews.com
We’ve finally made it to the last day of the college basketball season with the national championship just hours away. I consider myself a pretty big college basketball fan, keeping up with it all season long and being pretty heavily invested in one of the biggest programs in North Carolina. March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year. But on the day of the national championship game, I’m really just not that excited about it. #1 seed Virginia is squaring off against #3 seed Texas Tech in what should be a very competitive game. Even though it should be a good game, I have the feeling a lot of people are like me and aren’t very interested in it either. What is the reason for that?
Photo: John McDonnell/The Washington Post
The number one reason why I’m not that interested in it is because the lack of a traditional powerhouse school in the game, or the so-called “blue bloods.” Now, you can argue over who is a blue blood and who isn’t by debating if newer blue bloods are overtaking traditional blue bloods (Gonzaga over UCLA for example), but in this case I’m talking about the programs who have the biggest tradition, most fans, and generate the most revenue. North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and UCLA are definite blue bloods, while Louisville, Michigan State, Connecticut, and Indiana are close enough to make the argument. For the last 33 years, one of these schools have been represented in the national title game 30 times. This year, however, Virginia and Texas Tech are both making their very first appearance in the national championship game. While some people will argue this is good to keep things fresh, you can’t deny that overall it has to be a detriment to national ratings.
The next reason I am just not that interested is the lack of a superstar player in this game. I’m not talking about a one and done, although they definitely qualify. I’m talking about a player who gets you excited to watch any of their games because you never know what they are going to do. This game doesn’t have that. Both teams have very good players and that’s why they’ve made it this far, but none of their players are really exciting in themselves. I am genuinely interested how many players the average college basketball fan could name from either of these two teams playing tonight. There’s no doubt that the lack of a high quality player or two is going to have a negative effect on the ratings.
Photo: Matt Riley/UVA Athletics
Lastly, the style of basketball that both teams play make this game not nearly as appealing to me. Both teams are very defensive-minded, leading to a lot of their games being really slow-paced and low-scoring. As a UNC fan, I’ve grown accustomed to watching, and enjoying, a very fast-paced game with a lot of running and scoring. Those type of games are college basketball at its best in my opinion. Tonight’s game will most likely see each team score in the high-50s, low-60s. The betting line for total points is historically low at 118. It’s going to take a lot of patience for folks watching this one at home on television. Those who will be in attendance at the game shouldn’t hesitate to get up to get food/drink or go to the restroom because chances are they won’t miss very much.
There are storylines to this game such as both coaches and programs seeking their first national championship, the unexpected run of Texas Tech, and Virginia bouncing back from last year’s loss to a #16 seed as a #1 seed for the first time in the history of college basketball. But overall I just cannot get that excited about this year’s national championship game like I usually do. And I’d be willing to bet a lot of college basketball fans feel the same way.
Garett