March is the best sports month around, in my opinion.
It’s a bridge between Super Bowl month (February) and the onset of my favorite time of year when the Saint Louis Cardinals fill the spring, summer, and (hopefully) part of fall with games. And during this bridge month, one of the most exciting sporting events of the year occurs.
Since I’ve already broken one trademark by saying “Super Bowl,” I may as well throw caution to the wind and infringe again. I’m talking about March Madness, the national tournament for collegiate basketball.
Yes, the championship game occurs on the first Monday night in April, but it is the month of March that creates most of the memories. March also creates the most brackets. Over 70 million people fill out NCAA Tournament brackets each year. The gambling industry generates over 10 billion dollars in business during the win-or-go-home festivities.
It got me to wondering — what if all this hype could be leveraged for a cause?
This year, our nonprofit is hosting an online competition to raise funds in order to serve those in need in the United States and around the world. The funds raised will benefit those who go without basic needs — clothing, food, water, healthcare, and more. You can sign up to join the competition.
Most brackets aren’t worth bragging about. If you’ve ever been a part of a contest to try and predict who will win what games, you know this. There has never been a perfect bracket. The odds of guessing every game correctly is one in 9.2 quintillion. “Being a fan” of college basketball improves your chances, but they are still microscopic — one in 2.4 trillion. You have a far better chance to be elected President of the United States, win the Powerball, or to get struck by lightning.
To adequately communicate the minuscule chance of shaping a perfect bracket, think of it this way:
It is estimated that there are 3 trillion trees on planet earth. Now imagine being tasked with finding an acorn on a single tree that was marked in a particular way — on the first try. That is the kind of math we’re dealing with here.
But hey, if you’re going to be wrong anyway, why not be wrong for a good reason? Join our contest, and I’ll see you online.
