Why Watching March Madness Just Isn’t That Fun Anymore

I used to regularly skip school on the first two days of March Madness. Those beguiling opening-round days, where it feels like absolutely anything can happen from the first tipoff on Thursday morning to the final buzzer on Friday night, ranked among my favorite forms of hooky. Sure, being anywhere other than chemistry class was a huge part of the appeal, but so too was the chance to watch hours upon hours of uninterrupted basketball. And as a West Coast kid, the first game of the day starting around 9 a.m. also meant the dopamine started flowing early. Maybe it’s because I’m no longer an indulgent teenager, but lately, the NCAA Tournament hasn’t seemed nearly as enticing.