We’re officially less than 24 hours away from the start of the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. But while it may be the best time of the year to be a sports fan, it also might bring out the worst in some of the people who watch the event. We’re going to highlight the people you need to avoid during this year’s March Madness.
Presenting the 10 worst people you’ll encounter during the NCAA Tournament.
10. The Person Who Doesn’t Pay Their Bracket Pool Fee For Months
Every year, a handful of people you know put their careers on the line to put together a bracket pool. And every year, there are a handful of people – in each pool – who don’t pay for their bracket entries for months. They’re the worst.
15 years ago, it was sort-of acceptable to pay late – considering you either had to see the bracket organizer in person or use snail mail to deliver your fee. But nowadays, between PayPal, Venmo and the dozens of other ways to transfer money electronically, it’s just laziness on display. Pay up.
9. The Kentucky Fan
Big Blue Nation is probably the most powerful college basketball fan base, but it also may be the most insufferable. Kentucky fans were long considered one of the more ridiculous groups in the sport, but adding Coach Cal to the mix has taken the insanity to a new level.
Simply put, Kentucky fans do not accept or understand losing – even if they haven’t had a great year. When the Wildcats win, they can’t stop telling you about how dominant their program is. When they lose, they melt down like no other group. Heck, a decent portion of fans wanted Calipari gone a few years back, when the team made the NIT.
Avoid at all costs.
8. The Person Who “Picked” Every Upset, Because He/She Has Multiple Brackets
Look, it’s fine to fill out multiple brackets. In fact, if you’re in multiple pools, it makes sense – especially if you’re looking to keep yourself interested as the tournament rolls along. But if you pick different teams in different pools, you can’t boast when some of those picks wind up being correct. It’s inevitable.
There’s nothing worse than the guy/girl who, after picking an upset, tries to explain how he/she saw it coming. Especially when they only picked it in one of their four brackets.
If you nail a few upsets in one of your brackets, great. Go to the bathroom, give a good fist pump, and head back to your desk. Besides, you aren’t going to win your pool anyway.
7. The Person Who Only Wants To Talk About Ben Simmons
Thanks to ESPN, LSU freshman Ben Simmons, the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft, is more known than half the schools in this year’s NCAA Tournament. And Simmons’ team didn’t even qualify for the event. Woof.
Yes, Simmons is a great talent, and yes, he’ll likely be a solid pro. If you’re a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers (God help you), perhaps you’re justified in your excitement. But during the NCAA Tournament, can we maybe find other players to talk about? You know, like the ones playing in the tournament?
It’s a shame that Simmons won’t get his chance to shine in March, but that’s a side effect of heading to LSU instead of a bigger basketball school. Let’s pick up chatter about him in April.
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6. Your Coworker’s Husband/Wife, Who Never Watches College Basketball But Is Winning Your Pool
One of the best things about March Madness is that everyone – even people who don’t watch college basketball – gets up for the event. The biggest reason? Most people fill out brackets and enter pools. For some reason, it’s always those people who wind up winning all of the money, too.
How many times have you been in a pool and lost to someone who doesn’t even run in your circle of friends or coworkers? Most of the time it’s the significant other of one of your buddies – who doesn’t know anything about the sport. They picked teams based on colors – or mascots. Ugh.
You know what, maybe we take back No. 10. Hold off as long as you can on paying these people.
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5. The People In The Buffalo Wild Wings Commercial
Somehow, Buffalo Wild Wings has found a way to equate watching the NCAA Tournament to being deployed in the army. Seriously, just watch:
More questions:
1. Is it okay to make fun of people for attending art school? I don’t know, maybe?
2. Why the hell does their father’s art school decision mean that they can’t watch the games? Does this family not own televisions?
3. Once she’s in Buffalo Wild Wings, how on earth – oh nevermind this is stupid. Just mute the television when it comes on.
Next: Fans Of Teams On The Outside Looking In >>>
4. The Person Whose Team Isn’t In The NCAA Tournament
There are two reasons that your team might not be playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament. It either wasn’t good enough – or it was banned for some reason. Fans of teams in either category are usually pretty rough to spend time around during the event.
In particular, you might want to avoid Louisville fans this year. When Kentucky’s playing, they’re going to be the biggest anti-fans in the bar. But even when the Wildcats aren’t playing, they’ll be telling you about how their team would win it all – if they were eligible.
Fans of teams that were on the bubble but didn’t make it are tough to handle too – but it’s usually because they’re sad. Every year your favorite team doesn’t make the Big Dance, a little part of you dies inside. Nobody wants to spend time around that during such a fun time.
Next: The Oblivious Fan At The Bar >>>
3. The Person Who Cheers A Made Basket, Doesn’t Realize A Charge Has Been Called, And Yells At The Screen That The Score Is Wrong
Fans who don’t know the rules – or watch enough college basketball – are tough to handle for real supporters during this thing. There is one situation in particular that drives me absolutely nuts.
Every game, there are charges called (they’re usually unjustified) that nullify made baskets. If you’re in a crowded bar, there are always a handful of people – usually people who have no clue what’s going on – who think the basket counted, and that the score on-screen is wrong. Someone needs to explain what happened to them ten minutes later. Don’t be that guy.
To avoid this situation, it’s usually best to just watch your favorite team play at home. Watch the games you don’t care about in public.
2. The Duke Fan
If you went to Duke, have a family member who went to Duke or plan on going to Duke yourself, fine. Heck, if you live in the state of North Carolina, fine. Root for the Blue Devils all you want. But if you have no affiliation with the school and live in New Jersey, just stop. American does not need more Duke fans. We just don’t.
I have a great deal of respect for Coach K and what he’s been able to accomplish with his program. But there’s no doubt that the fan base resembles that of Notre Dame football. At least Kentucky fans – discussed earlier on our list – either went to Kentucky or are from the state of Kentucky.
“>March 5, 2015
There’s no better time for an eye-roll than when someone tells you they root for Duke, but didn’t go there. Next: The Worst Of All? >>>1. Charles BarkleyTurner analyst Charles Barkley is a funny guy, and his NBA knowledge is on-point. But man oh man is he terrible when it comes to breaking down college basketball. During the CBS selection show last Sunday, Barkley was insufferable, making it clear that he has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. We’re still not sure who thought it was a good idea to have the TNT guys crossover for March Madness coverage.Plus, there was the whole touchscreen debacle.
“>March 13, 2016
Why is not possible to just have college basketball analysts breaking down a college basketball tournament? Just mute the television when he’s on.
Who did we miss, college basketball fans?
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