NCAA Tourney is here, but if you live in NC, you'd think it's been going on since January...

Basketball here is so much bigger than just a sport: it's a religion. Take last Friday for example. Tar Heels are playing in the first round of the ACC tournament. A couple things to note here:

1) it's only the first round game, so it's a big talent mismatch
2) they're guaranteed a #1 seed in the bracket no matter what, so this is a bit of a throw away tourney anyway.

The area comes to pretty much a standstill starting at the 12pm tip off. Schools roll television sets into classrooms to broadcast the games. Employers everywhere see a steep dip in productivity, if there office is still staffed at all, since most of their employees are already at the sports bar in the area knocking back chicken wings and Miller Lite like it's a Sunday in the fall. By the way, those lucky enough to find a seat at their local watering hole were there about 2 hours prior to tip off.

Now it's time for the big dance. I'm expecting the hysteria to be dialed up a few notches... if that's possible.