March Madness: What Did We Do Before We Had the Internet?

Cable television has revolutionized the way the world sees the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The internet has revolutionized the way basketball fans participate in March Madness. So, what did we do before we had the internet?

You don't have to be a huge college basketball fan in order to get knee deep into March Madness. There is just something about it that draws us in, regardless of our level of knowledge or interest. "Doing a bracket" has become the thing to do in the month of March.

I consider myself a moderate college basketball fan. Aside from watching the Colorado Mesa Mavericks, I'm not one to spend a couple of hours in my recliner watching a game on TV - unless, of course, it's the NCAA tournament. Then, I'm watching every game I possibly can -- largely because I'm cheering for teams I have selected to advance in my tournament bracket.

There are dozens of bracket contests out there on the internet that compel fans to get their friends and office mates together to do a pool or to compete against other college basketball fans across the country. It's not  uncommon for an individual to be involved in three or four different bracket contests - and maybe even more. It's like an obsession. All of this bracket madness is directly related to the internet, with widespread, easy, and 'free' access.But what did we do before the internet?

Well, all I know is what I used to do and that is grab USA Today or The Rocky Mountain News and a pair of scissors. I would trim the printed bracket out of the paper and make my picks right there on the paper. Sometimes I would manage to make a copy of the bracket on the "xerox" copier so that I could do more than one bracket.

Of course, it was up to me to go through each round and count up the ones that I got wrong, marking each one with a red pen. This was serious stuff.

Now, thanks to the internet, regardless of what contest you play, no paper, scissors, or newspaper are required, and your wrong picks are automatically calculated for you. The internet has made it so completely easy that even those with minimal college basketball knowledge can do it.

We truly have come a long ways via the internet when it comes to March Madness. I'm just thankful that I'm young enough to remember how it used to be.