Op-ed pick: A new way to look at March Madness
Here's a new way to view March Madness: as a progressive's ultimate economic nightmare.
This is what Jon Terbush wrote in The Week:
The NCAA revenue model is one in which an enormous share of the money goes to the top, including the NCAA itself and the colleges; schools reap about $1.5 million for every tournament victory. Meanwhile, only a tiny bit of that trickles down to the athletes whose labor actually produces all that cash.
That kind of economic inequality would put even America's striking income imbalance to shame. And it's hard to imagine even the most ardent members of the Ayn Rand fan club touting it as a model for distributing wealth fairly. But the NCAA has total authority on the matter, slapping a "student-athlete" tag on players in order to run a self-enriching monopoly on college sports.
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Note: Terbush is not recommending a boycott and has filled out bracket.
If you are boycotting the NCAA March Madness or just don't care, here's the 2014 Awkward Bracket.
This is the most awkward image I could find:
[image]
February 13, 1936: A skating waiter slips on the ice, drinks tray in hand, but doesn't spill a drop! (Photo by E. Dean/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)