There is nothing like it in sports in my opinion. The drama, the excitement, the sheer volume of games. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is unmatched in terms of fun.

 

The first two days of the tournament are my favorite part. I've talked about this before...I love weekday afternoon sporting events. I don't know if it's the uniqueness of them since so many games are at night or on the weekend now, but I love hoops (or football bowl games) at 2:00 pm on a Friday.

 

So for me, I look forward to the first two days of the NCAA Tournament more than any other event in all of sports.

 

The opening day of the 2015 NCAA Tournament certainly lived up to the lofty expectations I have for it each year.

 

Look at these first day numbers, courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo on Twitter):

 

* Two 14 seeds advanced to the round of 32 for the first time since 1995

 

* Five games decided by one point, the most in a single day in NCAA Tournament history

 

* Just 273 of the 11.57 million entries into ESPN's Tournament Challenge still had a perfect bracket after day one (0.0024%).

 

Those three notes provide a look at exactly why this event is so popular: Chaos, underdogs and millions of people are invested.

 

America loves the underdog. I happened to be having lunch/watching the first few games from Kegler's here in Morgantown.

 

The place was packed. Three giant tv's in the front of the room brought us all of the action. When Georgia State hit the three pointer to take the lead on Baylor in the final seconds, the entire place erupted as if the Mountaineers had just won the game.

 

I'm talking everyone with their hands up and screaming. I have to admit it was pretty cool. And remarkable.

 

What other event brings an entire restaurant to its feet when none of the patrons are a fan of the team that just won? I can't think of a single sporting event that does that. Maybe the Super Bowl if the game is won on a last second field goal? Maybe.

 

Just minutes before, UAB had finished off an equally stunning 3-seed over a 14-seed upset of Iowa State. That game didn't have the last second drama of Georgia State - Baylor, but once the final horn went off I did hear multiple people scream out, "there goes my bracket!

 

Ahh, the brackets. Herein lies the beauty (and secret) of the tournament's success.

 

There is no debate that the rise in popularity of the brackets have fueled the growth and interest in the tournament. Do you even know anyone that doesn't fill out a bracket? Well, actually I do and I'll get to that shortly, but you get what I'm saying.

 

The networks are talking about it, your friends are talking about it, heck, we even hear players and coaches talk about brackets.

 

You know who doesn't? The NCAA. You know who doesn't fill out a bracket? Anyone associated with an NCAA member institution.

 

The NCAA considers putting $5 in a office pool centered on the NCAA Tournament gambling (and a violation of their rules) and we all know what the NCAA and pro sports leagues think of gambling. Or at least what their public comments are about gambling.

 

North Carolina can basically give away degrees for decades and the NCAA can't figure out how to punish them, but they'll come down hard on the sports marketing assistant at Southern Illinois who enters an office pool for $5. Look for a new career, pal. You just got fired. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not much.

 

I suspect professional sports leagues executives are smart enough to know what gambling (especially fantasy sports) have done for their leagues. How could they not know, right?

 

Not many people have accused the NCAA or its executives for being smart or understanding the public, but I suspect they also know how important gambling (brackets) is to their sport(s).

 

Now that I think about it, there is one giant example (and I mean giant literally) of the NCAA knowing how important the brackets are in promoting the tournament.

 

The JW Marriott in Indianapolis (home to this year's Final Four) has put up an enormous bracket on the side of the hotel during the tournament.

 

The NCAA is saying, "Look, look, look. Look how great this event is. We know you love brackets so we'll put an enormous one on the side of a hotel at the site of our championship. But, don't you general public put $5 in your office bracket picking contest. That would be bad."

 

Yes, make no mistake the NCAA is against gambling. Well, wait a second. Are they? They say they are. They punish those members that wager in an office pool (Google 'Rick Neuheisel Washington fired' if you don't believe me). But, there's this: the NCAA permits multiple leagues to hold their conference basketball tournaments in Las Vegas. Yep, Las Vegas.

 

In fact, the Pac-12 Conference held its tournament in the MGM Grand. Which, you guessed it, has a casino in it. Hmmm.

 

Yes, this is yet another example of the tone-deaf hypocrisy of the NCAA, but that rant will have to wait for another day.

 

For now, let's enjoy the ride. We still have a ton of games today and tomorrow before the field gets whittled down to 16 and we're back to night games.

 

Football season is a long six months away. Soak up this last bit of sports excitement.

 

Enjoy the games. Enjoy the drama. Enjoy your brackets. Just don't tell the NCAA.

 

Editor's Note: photos by Ben Queen of benqueenphotography.com