These days, you may hear people in the United States talking about March Madness. But what does that mean? Does the month of March make people angry? No, of course not! March Madness refers to a college basketball tournament(锦标赛). The competition takes place every March. And the madness it creates is excitement!
Sometimes the word “mad” is defined as “angry”. But here is another definition of the word: "marked by intense and unpredictable activity." The three-week long college basketball competition is exactly that. It involves 64 men's team and 64 women's teams from colleges and universities around the country. Another reason for the madness is that people bet(赌) a lot of money on the games. In 2015, the American Gaming Association said about $9 billion is bet on the tournament. All that money is enough to drive someone crazy!
This year, the championship game was played on April 4. The competition has been going on since 1939, but did not become a "madness" until 1979. That is when Michigan State University defeated Indiana State University. Two important players faced each other in competition: Michigan's Magic Johnson and Indiana's Larry Bird. Both went on to the NBA and great fame as two of the greatest basketball players ever.
The university with the most tournament championships is the University of California, Los Angeles, or UCLA. The Bruins, as the team is known, has won 11 times.
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