Jeff's Commentary - 3/16 - March Madness

In what can only be explained as one of the greatest times each year in sports, the NCAA Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) begins this Thursday. While Super Bowls come and go each year, it still remains a one day event. With March Madness, water coolers across this great country are full of office employees who are costing the country millions...maybe even billions in lost productivity. Hours are spent deciding over which 12 seed will defeat which 5 seed. Deep rooted discussions on who should have been in the “Big Dance”…different seeds…and how about those poor teams like ASU who didn’t get to the dance? Do the RPI rankings really matter anymore? These are the deep questions that scores of people ponder before Thursday.

Those who are not sports advocates become so during these next three weeks.

It’s distracting. It’s annoying at times. But it’s sure fun to fill in your picks. It gets us away from the grind of the everyday week and allows us for a few glorious days to watch which teams can swing the pendulum. Few even care or know the players that perform. That is not the point. It’s the excitement of building your bracket. Whether by complex computer analysis or picking teams because you like their colors or name, however you get to your Final Four is just fine. That is what makes this week so great. It just doesn’t matter how you pick…..it’s simply that you pick. I take my sheets home for my dog to fill out. Whatever paw he puts on each team becomes his pick. Last year he took fourth place in his bracket.

March Madness gets some folks you haven’t seen for a year out of their office to compete and actually talk to you. I didn’t even know we had a certain employee at the station until he stepped out and introduced himself while filling in his picks. We probably won’t see him for the rest of the year.

So as President Obama and the two parties fight over health care this week, I have “the” simple solution. Legalize March Madness office betting and tax it. You could save the health care woes of this nation by simply setting up an office tax for everyone who participates and send that money to Uncle Sam. The millions or billions that could be raised is more than enough to take care of our health care issues for years to come. Just think what happens WHEN they expand and go to 96 teams. You could tax each week of the tournament differently as it progresses. We could make this so complex that accountants would be needed to help us understand the tax rules which then would open up more jobs and fill some of the gap of those unemployed. Additional jobs could be created as we use technology to really take us to the next level on our picks. My son’s four years at ASU would not be wasted.

And best of all, as your teams progress to either winning or losing you are happy... because it’s about participation. It’s about renewal as the winter comes to an end and clean jump shots and team work still count on the court of life. So, with health care solved by my tax initiative on March Madness, have fun with picking your teams. Upsets always rule the roost this time of the year.

Jeff