It’s March, But There Is Another Kind Of Madness Happening In The United States Of America Today

By James B. Ewers Jr. Ed.D. It is March, and the game of basketball is front and center. The college season has been up and running since November and is now ending. Conference tournaments have started, and champions will be crowned. Fans are excited, and the atmosphere is charged up as teams believe they can make a run to be a conference champion. Has your favorite played in its conference tournament yet? Many people plan their vacations around basketball tournaments. The phrase, March Madness, was coined by Henry V. Porter in 1939. He was an assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association. Basketball tournaments, NCAA, and NAIA bids are now on the minds of coaches and players alike. The joy of winning and the pain of losing will be the focus of everyone. I have been a basketball fan all my life. Most of the guys in my Winston-Salem, NC neighborhood played basketball, so we watched how the game has evolved. We have seen how new rules and regulations have affected the sport. Rules have changed in both basketball and in life. Some changes have occurred in life that I will simply call American Madness. Some of these...