Under the new guidelines, a new round, the "First Four" round, will be played early in the week between the last four "at-large teams" against the final four "automatic qualifiers". The greed works thusly...
The "First Four" will be played either the Tuesday or Wednesday after Selection Sunday. The winners of the four games will advance to what will now be called the "second round" on either Thursday or Friday. The newly named third round -- with 16 games -- will be Saturday and Sunday.It's just dumb. No matter how hard they try to redefine a lexicon that has arisen organically, the new "first round" will be recognized for what it is, a stupid gimmick to maximize revenue.
It's not a "round" if only eight teams have to play. And you're no longer an "automatic qualifier" if you must jump through another hoop than the rest of the field to join the Big Dance.
The Selection Committee's task is an unscientific endeavor, but at least it's a line in the sand.
To throw another subjective rung in the mix, this one covered by thinly-veiled greed, it flirts with permanently scarring our March Love Affair.
And, without a doubt, that is the end game. This is the initial push down the slippery slope to the expanded field that every CBS and ESPN suit wants to see. It further devalues our terminology and paves the way for the "expanded field" to be more palatable...
"Wow! Did you watch last night? What a great game! Look how many quality teams are out there! How can we deny these young athletes a chance at March glory? Let's expand the whole tournament! Huh? Huh?!?"
The Big Dance should be the great equalizer. You punch your ticket, you win 6 games, you reap the glory. Adding qualifiers bastardizes the process and muddles our March language, except for one word. Greed.
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