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Let the madness begin
Next Thursday is not an official holiday, but to sports fans across the country, it practically is.
"March Madness," the common phrase used to describe the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, kicks off that day. The round of 64 games starts around noon and will last well into the evening hours.
Friday has the same schedule, with the other 16 opening-round games taking place at sites spanning the continental United States.
Historically, attendance at the workplace is low during those two days, with employees either leaving early or not going in at all – opting instead to go to their local sports bar or to plant themselves on the couch at home in front of a massive high-definition TV.
"It's normally pretty big [here]," said Brian Rees, sous chef at Brion's Grille in Fairfax. "And if [George Mason] wins [Monday] and advances, it will get really big here like it was two years ago."
When George Mason advanced to the Final Four in 2006, Northern Virginia was electric. Mason signs were everywhere. Bars were packed during the games. The campus was a media frenzy.
The Patriots played William & Mary Monday evening in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game, after deadline for this section of The Times. With a win, the sons of Jim Larranaga would earn an automatic bid to this year's March Madness showcase. Check FairfaxTimes.com for a recap of that game.
If you are planning to take a few hours – or a few days – off work for the tournament, Fairfax County is not short on places to go watch the game action. Champps Americana in Reston, Jimmy's Old Town Tavern in Herndon, Glory Days in Burke and Centreville, and a host of other watering holes will have their doors open to anyone looking to catch some of the live coverage.
Rees was asked about the typical crowd that comes to Brion's Grille for the early round games during the workday.
"Normally, they come in after work. It's great," Rees said. "There's a lot of businesses in the area, and we get people in business suits all the time."
Playing hooky from the office is not the only major theme that surrounds March Madness. Office pools have been around for decades, but gone are the days when sports fans would keep multiple brackets on their coffee tables, marking them up with pen and highlighters as each game ended. Now there are online bracket games that automatically calculate how many points each participant has at all times.
Since the 64-team format was born in 1985, top seeds have never lost to No. 16 seeds in the opening round of play. According to pregame.com, the odds of filling out a perfect bracket are nine quintillion to one. (Nine quintillion is the number 9 followed by 18 zeros.) More than 10 percent of Americans partake in their annual March Madness office pools, and an estimated $5.2 billion is illegally wagered during the tournament.
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