Boom, Boom, Clap. Boom, Boom, Clap. Boom, Boom, Clap. 
Arenas across the nation pulse to this familiar-almost primal-rallying call. This call extends from the hearts of the faithful refueling the souls of the hardwood warriors that fight for supremacy on the battlefield that is collegiate basketball. These tired, war weary, warriors whose sole goal for the last 5 months has come down to this last battle, this last possession, this last shot.
The whistle sounds, the pass is made, and the shot is away? the buzzer sounds-the score is tied. The ball dances and spins around the rim as if it knows that the world is watching and it is milking it for all it is worth-everyone gets their 15 minutes. A hush falls over the crowd as they all wait with baited breath. Their hopes for victory or fears of defeat will be answered momentarily. To the millions watching and the thousands in attendance, this is not just college basketball. This is March Madness.
This time of year, the NCAA Men?s and Women?s Division 1 basketball tournament begins culminating in the crowning of a new national champion. March Madness is aptly named for it seems the entire country is thrown into a fit of frenzy during the tournament. Offices across the country hold betting pools centered on the outcome of each game, from each division, for each pod and seed from each region. It can get out of hand and overly complicated for the uninitiated but for those who understand the terms and syntax it is simply: Bracketology.
For the uninitiated, consider this a primer on how the Division 1 NCAA basketball tournament works. Throughout the NCAA basketball season, teams play each other in mini-tournaments and regular season games to determine their ranking at the end of the year. These rankings are used in the NCAA championship tournament and are called ?seeds?. You may have heard of an ?8 seed upsetting a 4 seed? and have been clueless-now you know.
Out of the 327 teams in NCAA Division 1 basketball only 65 Men?s and 64 Women?s teams are selected for the tournament. These teams are chosen by a selection committee that weights specific criteria against each team. There are some teams that are exempt from this committee; they are the winners of their respective conference championships. These teams are automatically invited to the tournament while other teams with losing records are not so lucky.
There are teams that are on the fence as to whether or not they will be invited to the tournament. These teams are called ?Bubble? teams because at anytime the bubble containing their hopes and dreams could pop.
The tournament is a single-elimination style gauntlet that weeds out the weak from the strong. There are names for each round of elimination, some more inspired than others, they are: First round, Second round, Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four and the National Championship game. The tournament is pretty simple to keep track of once it begins as one team is simply defeated-so all you need to do is subtract 1.
March Madness is a phenomenon that grips the country and shakes it until a NCAA Basketball champion is crowned. It is a time for bragging rights and for bets of a shameful nature to come to fruition. Many a dress will be worn this month and though 64 Men?s and 63 Women?s teams will go home empty handed everyone can enjoy March Madness.
Spring Fever - All Winter and no play makes us go crazy
No, you?re not going crazy-that is a bird chirping outside your window. Well, you may be going crazy but that is to be expected after weeks of a brutal winter. What you are feeling is normal, as spring fever is gripping the land.
As the earth begins to shake loose the shackles of Old Man Winter and the ground begins to swell and become fertile once again, most who have been cooped up in their homes for the winter become emotionally imbalanced. The urge to go outside and enjoy the warmer temperature is something mankind has been dealing with for millennia. The urge can be especially strong for those who live farther north where the winter seems to last forever.
While spring fever has come to explain the general restless most of us feel it is also a very real illness that many people fall victim to each year. It is a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD which is a psychological illness that has some pretty serious physical ramifications. Some of the symptoms of spring fever are:
- Dizziness
- Irritability
- Aching joints
- Headaches
- General lack of motivation
As with SAD, the causes for spring fever are still relatively unknown. It is thought to be a hormone imbalance brought on by the lack of sunlight. Serotonin, the body?s happiness hormone, can be all but depleted after a particularly harsh winter which makes it easier for Melatonin, the body?s sleep regulating hormone, to take up the slack.
For those who are dealing with the other form of spring fever, the symptoms are quite different. They include:
- Cleaning white or light colored tennis shoes compulsively
- Ironing khaki shorts
- Purchasing bucket, sponge and new garden hose nozzle
- Wandering around home improvement stores
- Ordering Seersucker ensembles from online stores
- General abundance of motivation
Spring is a wonderful time of the year full of new life and heady expectations. After surviving another long, hard winter it is only natural to want to go outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. Picnics, BBQ?s and gardening are just part of the outdoor activities that we look forward to in spring-that is unless you have seasonal allergies.
Seasonal allergy sufferers lament the onset of spring as it signals the beginning of several months of watery eyes and sneezing. Hay fever has often been misconstrued as spring fever but it can occur during any season and affects about 30% of the population. The causes vary though the main culprits are tree and plant pollen, animal dander and dust mites. Despite the misery brought about from these allergies, most sufferers are still able to enjoy the weather with the help of over-the-counter allergy medications.
Spring fever has come to mean different things over the years from serious illness to a hankering to go outside. Whatever it means to you try to enjoy the season and the opportunities that come from it as winter is just a few months away.
For one special day, people across the planet celebrate by going green and it is not ?Earth Day?. It is, of course, St. Patrick?s Day: the celebration of Irish culture that happens every March 17th. Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick?s Day and that sentiment extends across the globe to the U.S., Canada, Australia and even Japan!
St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. His life and exploits have been greatly exaggerated over the years from being a prisoner to beating all of the snakes out of Ireland. The Irish have a rich culture that has a strong tradition in oral histories so it is easy to see how such a revered figure can have such an outlandish history with retellings trickling down from generation to generation.
St. Patrick did not beat all of the snakes out of Ireland-at least-not literally. He was a prisoner, though, and was the son of a wealthy Christian Deacon-though whether or not he chose to follow in his father?s footsteps despite being a saint remain to be seen.
St. Patrick is celebrated for bringing Christianity to Ireland which is a bit misconstrued. There were already Christians in Ireland when St. Patrick returned on his mission trip. What he was able to do is integrate the pagan beliefs of the Irish into Christianity such as the inclusion of the Sun-a pagan symbol, with the Cross-a Christian symbol, creating the Celtic Cross.
St. Patrick?s Day has been celebrated on March 17th-the date of St. Patrick?s death-for over 1000 years in Ireland. It formally came to the United States in 1762-on March 17, of course. This celebration was the first ever St. Patrick?s Day parade and it was brought about by Irish soldiers serving in the British military who marched through New York City. This spawned several centuries of celebrations that extend to this year when over 100 St. Patrick?s Day parades will take place throughout the country.
The day when everyone is Irish is celebrated by millions and in unique ways. Most people wear green, Chicago dyes its river green and many more choose to celebrate St. Patrick?s Day with alcohol. There are a few traditional spirits consumed such as Guiness and other beers dyed green for the special occasion. Here are a few recipes for St. Patrick?s Day beverages that you may find useful during your celebrations:
Irish Coffee
- 2/3 part freshly brewed coffee- 1/3 part Irish whiskey
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- lightly whipped cream
Into a stemmed glass, put two teaspoonfuls brown sugar; add one-third Irish Whiskey and two-thirds really hot, really strong black coffee. Stir well, then float whipped cream on top.
St. Patrick's Day Green Cocktail (Midori Sour)
- 1 oz Midori melon liqueur- 1 oz whiskey sour mix
- 2 oz Sprite soda
Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the midori, sour mix, sprite, and stir.
St. Patrick's Day Cocktail (Irish Eyes)
- 1 oz. Irish whiskey- 1/4 oz. green creme de menthe
- 2 oz. heavy cream
Shake well with crushed ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry.
However you choose to celebrate St. Patrick?s Day, if it involves alcohol, please remember to drink responsibly and enjoy the holiday not the hangover!
Advertisers missing the boat on lucrative consumer block.
The Greatest Generation, as penned by Tom Brokaw, is one of the largest consumer blocks in the nation and one of the most tech savvy. As Baby Boomers begin breaking in their golden years their reach economically grows. With that said, why are there so few ads geared towards this age group?
Nursing homes, joint supplements, and heart medication notwithstanding, there are virtually no ads geared towards Baby Boomers. Generation Y, anyone born between roughly 1982 and 1995-otherwise known as ?Millennial's?, seems to be the target market for advertising agencies nowadays.
Generation Y has become one of, if not the, most technically savvy generations in history. Born around the same time IBM rolled out the first new personal computer, the aptly named PC, this generation has been at the forefront of most technology. They are usually the first to try and buy new technology and are the coveted 18-34 age group that makes advertisers their BFF.
Generation Y may be one of the trendiest generations but they lack the buying power of older generations such as the Baby Boomers. According to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Baby Boomers are comprised of 118 million Americans and in 2010 they spent a whopping $2.9 trillion on consumer goods. By comparison, the 182 million Americans under the age of 50 spent 3.3 trillion.
So, if the Baby Boomers are spending more then why are advertisers not trending their ads towards this lucrative age group? Baby Boomers, like younger generations, are buying new technology such as televisions, computers and automobiles. The latter should be news to the ailing auto industries ears. There is a vastly untapped market for Big Auto to help solve their own financial crisis and possibly even turn a profit.
Not all manufacturers of automobiles have been too busy Tweeting to notice. Lincoln has hired John Slattery of ?Mad Men? fame to tout the technological advances of their new line. These ads seem to be directly geared towards the new and improved senior citizens-some of whom have just Tweeted and updated their Facebook profiles.
Advertising geared towards older generations does not need to be a negative. It also does not need to be the typical old person waiting for a check from Medicaid or conferring with a friend about life insurance. While these things may happen, this generation of seniors is still very active. Those who have the luxury of retiring in a recession are not doing so lying down and most Boomers are still active in the workforce and plan on working until they are physically unable.
The reason for Boomers remaining in the workforce can be varied and are subjective to the individual. One main cause is that Baby Boomers were not likely to save for retirement during their respective youth. Most Boomers do not have enough in their 401k or were relying on Pension funds to allow them to coast through financially. After the recession hit, most have had to use those funds to stay afloat-those that had them.
While Baby Boomers may not be as financially well off as they would like, most of them are still able to afford some of the nicer things in life. Having tenure in certain careers allows them to stay on top as the dominant consumer group in America. By becoming all but unionized with the help of the AARP-American Association of Retired Persons-helps keep Baby Boomers in a position of relevance and power on a national scale. Once advertising agencies tap into this market, the Greatest Generation may help us, yet again, by solving our financial woes.