At its heart, March Madness is not a spectator sport. The NCAA men's and women's tournaments are meant to be experienced viscerally—whether through your team's participation, neutral observation, or the simple joy of filling out a bracket.
Because of the tournament's simplicity—68 teams, single elimination—it lends itself well to the attention of fans who normally have no interest in sports. This has given rise to the phenomenon of the "mascot bracket," in which the basketball agnostic in your life fills out their bracket based solely on mascot quality.
