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March Madness
One Of America’s Most Prominent Sporting Events

By: www.sportstickets411.com

If you are one of those national sports psyche, you must be already impatiently waiting for the first week of March when the March Madness will grip the sports lovers of the entire nation. This phenomenon lasts till the first week of April. Big Dance is another popular term that is used as an alternative to March Madness. Both the terms refer to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. This tournament is organized during the month of March. Sixty-five college basketball teams participate in this single elimination tournament. The semi-finals of this tournament are popularly referred to as the "Final Four". The final four is one of the most prominent sporting events of the United States of America.

Who Invented The Term?

Despite being such a popular term and the fact that every other person is gripped by this phenomenon, very people know about the inventor of the term – March Madness. As per popular belief, Brent Musburger is supposed to be the first one to use the term for the college tournament. However, he used this phrase during CBS Sports' coverage of the tourney way back in 1982.

A Registered Trademark

Very few people know that "March Madness" is also a registered trademark – jointly held by the Illinois High School Association and the NCAA. In the last few years, owning of the trademark has also resulted in a couple of high-profile courtroom battles.

Beautifying The Frenzy

The term usually refers to the NCAA March Madness series. These are the season-ending basketball tournaments – conducted by various State High School Associations and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. These tournaments ignite a kind of frenzy among sports fans and sports gamblers (at the college level). March Madness is the term that is used to beautify this frenzy.

The Tournament Ritual

The madness does not just end at the sports fans or the sports gamblers. It continues with the players as well, as the winning team follows a unique ritual. After winning the regional chamionship game, the winning team cuts down the net. Each of the players commemorates their victory by cutting a single strand off from the net. The head coach cuts the last strand.

The Trophy For The Teams

Prior to the year 2007, only the Final Four teams would receive a bronze plated NCAA Regional Championship trophy. But starting from 2007, all the regional champions receive the bronze plated trophy. In addition to that, the National Champions are also awarded with a gold-plated NCAA National Championship trophy. The runner up team that loses the chamionship game gets a silver plated trophy.

The Trophy For The Coaches

When it comes to the March Madness tournaments, it is not just the teams that are awarded with the trophies. The Coaches of the top-ranked teams in the National Association of Basketball also get an honorary marble or crystal trophy. However, since this trophy is not affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, it is not given in the award presentation ceremony. The award is given to the coaches during a press conference later. This trophy is also popularly known as the "Siemens Trophy" because of the fact that it is sponsored by Siemens Company.

Al is the author and webmaster of a Football Tickets resource site.