experience matters

Kelly Riegler | Critical Mass Chicago

I’ve been a fan of college basketball since I was in sixth grade.  And yes, it may have started because I thought Christian Laettner was cute, but it’s stuck with me.  And thankfully, I’ve evolved into loving the game and not just the cute college boys.

College basketball (the tournament in particular) has been a way to bring people together.  A connector.  It gives my Dad and I something to bond over (he adopted my love for Duke back in sixth grade, although his reasoning was far more intelligent than mine), something for my office-mates to talk about and fodder for constant Facebook and Twitter updates.  While the sport hasn’t changed all that much– it’s still as exciting as it was back in 1992 for that infamous Duke/Kentucky game the way we experience it certainly has.  For me, it’s become extraordinary.

Take for example the office pool.  Back in the day, the brackets would be set on a Sunday night, and printed in the newspaper on Monday.  You’d cut out the bracket, and hand-write (yep- HAND-WRITE) your choices.  You’d take it to the office, make a photocopy, and turn it in to the pool manager, keeping the original for yourself.  That poor person would spend his/her weekends tallying (BY HAND) the scores and providing an update on Monday.  Talk about a horrible way to spend the weekend.  I promise- I would not have been the bracket manager if it involved doing math.

It’s completely different now.  You can watch the Selection Sunday show, make your bracket picks online, submit it to your office pool, and watch your progress online.  CBS Sports updates your standings within minutes after every game.  It makes being the bracket manager A LOT easier.  Think about how far we’ve come in only a few years…  It’s pretty amazing.

I’ll admit it.  I watched the games while at work.  I mean, just during lunch, of course.  Not like I’d watch the games while I was actually working, or in between meetings, or on a conference call- that would just be irresponsible.   ;)   How cool is it that you can watch the games from your office?!  Live!  With a boss button! Although I must confess I preferred last year’s spreadsheet to this year’s flow chart when I clicked the boss button.  But I digress.

MediaPost says online viewing of the games was up 20 percent versus last year.  I know I certainly contributed to that.

This year, my husband bought the CBS Sports app so he was able to watch any game on his iPhone.  He watched Ohio University beat Georgetown from the back of a cab while stuck in traffic coming home from O’Hare.  He texted me the score (like I wasn’t already watching…).

Meanwhile, I was tweeting about how freaking excited I was that my alma mater actually beat Georgetown in round one (come on, that was a HUGE win).  I saw nearly all of my college friends update their Facebook profile pics with the Ohio University attack cat, and then I checked my co-workers brackets to see if any of them were brazen enough to take OU winning that game (not surprisingly, only a few did.  And they all went to Ohio University).  And that win put me comfortably in second place.  For a few hours anyway.

It was extraordinary to see all this activity, happening within minutes of the game.  I spent several minutes reading my Facebook news feed on my iPhone and commenting on all the status updates proclaiming the awesome-ness of Ohio University- all while watching the game in the comfort of my home.  It honestly made March Madness even more enjoyable- which I didn’t think was possible.

Right before Michigan State won at the last second in round two against Maryland, I posted a photo to Facebook which showed our stuffed Sparty doll watching the game with my husband (an alum) pacing the floor in front of the TV.  Without my iPhone camera, Facebook for mobile devices and stuffed Sparty dolls that sing the fight song– think of what an un-extraordinary experience that would have been.  No one would have witnessed the hilarious scene of that day except for me.  And trust me- it was FUNNY.

After seeing MSU play in Detroit last year (yes, we went to the games last year and spent a small fortune), my husband agreed that it was MY turn.  So the deal was that if Duke made it to the Final Four, we’d make the trip to Indy to watch them play.  Imagine our delight when BOTH of our teams advanced!  After the games ended on Sunday, we sat side-by-side on the couch with our laptops and searched for tickets.  We booked a car rental, hotel and tickets- all online, of course- within a few hours.  Indy, here we come!  Does it matter that it cost practically an entire paycheck?  Nope.

We did all this because digital enabled us to.  Talk about a game-changer.  I can’t think of anything that has changed the way we consume, share and converse more than digital technology.  March Madness has always been extraordinary to me- the beauty of knowing that anything can happen, and usually does (hello, Kansas, I’m talking about you).  But I’ve found myself enjoying it more and more each year thanks to the ability to watch, share, and discuss with my friends and family all over the country.   Being connected to the people I love, talking about the sport I love.  Now that’s extraordinary.