College Basketball

When I was in high school, one of the things that could get me more excited than anything was college basketball.  People back then used to ask me why I found it so interesting, but my reply to them was, what wasn't interesting about it?  The games were exciting, the fans were passionate, and there were so many teams, that you could really choose who to root for, compared to pro sports, where you mostly root for the home team.  I was excited for every game, but the March Madness tournament was the best because anything could happen.  Yes, I used to love college basketball and March Madness, but as I've gotten older, I've realized that's just not the case anymore.

Why do I feel this way?  To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure.  The easy explanation would be that pro sports leagues like the NBA are just that much better, but I don't think that's the case, especially when there are so few teams that compete for a championship.  It could be because so many athletes turn pro earlier, but I don't think that's the cause either since I still found college basketball entertaining back then even without the biggest names in the world.

So why do I really feel this way, in a year when college basketball was/is at it's most exciting?  I think I feel this way because I'm in college, and being in college takes all the fun out of watching college basketball.  When I was in high school, I could choose everything for myself, but now that I'm in college that isn't the case.  Everyone wants you to be supportive of your school, but since I don't believe in "giving" in to the machine, that will never happen, which is a shame since college basketball is still a great product.  School, why does it always have to take the fun out of everything?