Cora Beels

March Madness has integrated itself into FHC students’ lives.

March Madness, the annual National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament for Division I Men’s Basketball, seems to be a worldwide phenomenon, attracting attention from people of all ages. While most people watch it for the basketball aspect, March Madness is best known for its brackets. March Madness brackets are filled out by fans who make predictions about which team will win the tournament. These brackets create competition among fans to see who can make the most correct guesses, and this competition has seeped into student life at FHC.

The Sports Journalism class (FHC Sports Report) at FHC has taken the initiative to create its own class competition, bringing together both the spirit of their curriculum and class recreation. The competition is headed by senior Gibby Wierenga, who was the source of the idea.

“I’m running [the competition], with our class being sports journalism and all that, I figured the guys would wanna do one,” Gibby said. “I did a bracket last year, so both years I’ve edited [for the Sports Report], I’ve done one; not a lot of people are participating since it’s a small class.”

While most competitions result in either a prize or punishment, Sports Journalism is participating in neither; however, Gibby is not averse to adding a prize if his classmates want one.

One prize that has attracted the attention of many students is one from AP Seminar teacher Jordan George, who is running his own bracket for his students to partake in. With George also working as the Varsity Men’s Basketball coach at FHC, it’s no wonder he is quick to participate in this basketball-rooted competition. 

“I think we have about 75% of students participating [in the bracket], the rate of participation went up once I mentioned that the prize was a dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme,” George said. “It was actually [AP Seminar teacher Morgan] Beckett’s idea [to run a competition], so shoutout to her. And I’ve done it every year of teaching, ever since I even taught at Jenison, and it’s just a fun, competitive thing to do in class that is non-academic and is a good point of connection for people.” 

Donuts and prizes aren’t the only incentives students have found to participate in March Madness. While no school-sanctioned brackets have presented any punishments for their last-place participants, groups of students have taken it upon themselves to create their own with their friends. Junior Cameron Osterhaven finds these punishments to be an entertaining incentive to win his bracket.

“There’s like a dog cage punishment where someone has to sit in a dog cage for three hours, and people get to do whatever they want to them,” Cameron said. “The loser is whoever gets the least amount of points in the bracket, meaning they lost the most.” 

Losing the competition seems to be due to a lack of skill; however, the majority of points won are purely based on luck. March Madness doesn’t necessarily require background information regarding basketball, meaning anyone can participate. With this open-door policy, it’s no wonder March Madness has swept across FHC.

“I mean, in the NCAA tournament, no one has an advantage picking,” Gibby said. “Nobody knows what’s actually gonna happen. You can say you know more about what’s going to happen, but no one actually knows; it’s so unpredictable.”

March Madness’s charm seems to be in its accessibility; no skill or background knowledge is necessary. Therefore, for people with no experience with basketball, how are they filling out their brackets? George has seen a few ways people have tackled this issue in his classes.

“It’s absolutely not [necessary to be knowledgeable about basketball],” George said. “Most people who win these do it off the color of the teams or team mascot since it’s just so random.” 

Whether participants pick their winning teams based on color scheme, mascot, skill, or pure vibes, students are guaranteed to have fun. No prize or punishment is necessary to participate, just a willingness to do so. The March Madness phenomenon sweeping across FHC is popular for a reason, purely because at its core, it’s just fun.

“My favorite part is the competition between everybody, and seeing who comes out on top,” Cameron said. “I have [maybe] three brackets with my friends, one with my family, and one online. I don’t think my chances [of winning] are high. I’ve been filling out brackets for probably seven years; I do it for the fun of it and competition. I like basketball a lot, but everyone fills out brackets.”