Those who study in the United States are well aware that at this time of the year, university students, like most other Americans, are subject to "March Madness". This is the name of the final tournament of the national basketball championship among the teams of the First Division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It runs from mid-March to early April.

After the Super Bowl, the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament or "March Madness" or "The Big Dance" is the most anticipated sporting event of the year. Of course, other sports (baseball) and leagues (NBA) can argue with this opinion, but it is shared by many, and in this article I argue this position.

"March Madness" is the tournament's most famous nickname, which refers to the huge number of games that were played over two weeks, a bunch of upsets and the sincere emotions of the players for whom this tournament is the best chance to prove themselves and continue their careers, and for others, this is the last chance to play their favorite game before the start of “adulthood”.

During the “March Madness” period, the Internet connection speed even drops, because so many fans watch matches online. According to the latest available data, in 2018, in-game ad revenue exceeded $1.32 billion. Last year, 97 million fans followed the tournament.

1.Work on March Madness Day

2.Bracket’s busted

3.There’s a chance

We offer answers to the questions that are most often asked by those wishing to understand this purely American sporting event. If you go to study in the United States next year, then in March you may be rooting for your university team.

Americans are incredibly loyal to their colleges and universities. It doesn't matter whether a person just entered the university or graduated 30 years ago, he is, without any doubt, an avid fan of his university team, considers it the best and the only one that deserves the championship title.

These are exciting competitions. Compared to the professional championship, there are fewer playoff matches in the student championship, the struggle is sharper, and the final tournament is much faster. Even if their favorite teams don't make it to the finals, Americans still watch every game. Why? It's simple: unlike professional athletes, students do not play for money, but defend the honor of their educational institutions and just love basketball.

In total, more than 300 university teams play in the NCAA Division I. On Qualifying Sunday - this year it falls on March 17 - a special commission announces 68 teams that will enter the so-called men's bracket. Eight of them will play preliminary games, and the four winners will advance to the main tournament, which includes 64 teams. Another commission announces 64 teams of the women's draw.

4.Live dangerously

5.Finish above you

6.This is madness?

In both the men's and women's tournaments, 32 teams advance to the final tournament as the winners of their respective conference championships. (Conferences are groupings of universities, usually organized geographically.) The selection committee names the rest of the teams based on the number of victories and how strong their rivals were. Tournament brackets are divided into four regions.

The commission "seeds" the best teams in each region under the first numbers, the next four - under the second, and so on. In the first round, the first seeded team plays the 16th seeded team, while the second seed plays the 15th seed. In other words, the strongest play the outsiders first. Teams from the middle of the grid are approximately equal in strength.

The second major reason for the huge popularity of March Madness is that no one knows for sure who will be the champion.

This spring, the men's teams of Duke University and the University of North Carolina are considered the strongest. They often claim the championship title, and they all have a glorious history. The teams of the University of Virginia and the University of Gongaz are not far behind. Stirring up interest in March Madness is the possible appearance of Cinderellas, those who have not previously achieved major success, but defeat teams that were considered invincible.

7.Gloat about it

8.Better bracket

9.Gambling

Last year, Loyola University Chicago's men's team, seeded 11th in their region, made it to the final four. The University of Virginia team, number 1 in its region, lost in the first round to the 16th club, the University of Maryland from Baltimore (this happened for the first time in the history of the tournament). This year, the 12th seeded University of Oregon can beat the established favorites and become, as ambitious newcomers are called, “the destroyer of tournament grids”. Although the victory was predicted primarily for the number 1, Duke University, this team almost lost in the second round to the University of Central Florida, seeded 9th. In other words, everything is possible in this tournament.

As for the women's teams, the top four are the University of Louisville Cardinals, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Baylor University Lady Bears and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs. Popular teams that have not been successful before are the Hoosiers from Indiana University and another Lady Bears from the University of Missouri.

Many will be surprised to learn that the Madness has not always been the premier college basketball tournament. In the middle of the last century, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was much more prestigious than the NCAA tournament. For those who are more or less familiar with college basketball, yes, this is the same NIT that now has a reputation as a repechage tournament. In the 1950s, the NCAA basketball tournament began to gain prestige after the NCAA began requiring conference champions to play in their own tournament.

“Americans are incredibly loyal to their colleges and universities. It doesn't matter whether a person just entered the university or graduated 30 years ago, he is, without any doubt, an avid fan of his university team, considers it the best and the only one that deserves the championship title.

10.March Madness

11.Never made one

12.But when I do

13. 5 speed

14.Only competing

15.When it it

16.What’s all the brackets

17.Not what we thought

18.You get it

19.A toast

20.Going exactly as planned

21.Watch out for me

22.You have one

23.Baylor students

24.Sum your life

25.So it begins

26.Welcome

27.No idea

28.The longer you watch March Madness

29.I call it march

30.Is here baby

31.Memes are coming

32.School playing

33.Canceled

34.At work

35.Shocker

36.Picking a bracket

37.College basket

38.Busted

39.Cancel it

40.So bored

41.What’s wrong

42.The only one

43.Not even mad

44.Just let me check

45.March Madness

46.I have no idea

47.The best moment

48.There I was

49.Filled out

50.All right

Art means transformation, and this man transforms into everything he sees around him, that is, what creation means. A cat reminds us of Batman. And many other characters create different portraits in our imagination. This is how new characters are created with the help of an artist's make-up and vision.

1.Becoming Batman

2.New face

3.Movie scene

4.Tooth Paste

5.PS5

6.Human being

7.Oh hello

8.Cyberpunk

9.Well well

Fools' Day has long-held origins, with historians considering the custom of pranks to be a mixture of local folk customs specific to each country with ancient legends and ceremonies to welcome the New Year and later spring.

 

April 1 - Fool's Day is a day of pranks or jokes. Sending friends or similar gags to an unnecessary meeting has been known in most European countries since the 16th century. It may not be officially declared a holiday, but it is undoubtedly a memorable day.

 

Here are some funny memes for the April Fools Day

 

1. Just one day

 

2. Being here

 

3. True again

 

April 1st is Trick Day. The custom, hundreds of years old, is an opportunity for people to surprise their friends more or less pleasantly.

 

The custom of fooling April 1 is a centuries-old one. Forerunners of April Fools' Day could be the Roman Hilaria festival, which took place on March 25, and the Medieval Feast of Fools, which took place on December 28, a still celebrated day in some countries. Spanish language, Mediafax reports.

 

On the other hand, the earliest reference to Fool's Day seems to be, according to The Museum of Hoaxes in San Diego, California, a fragment of a 1539 Flemish poem in which a man allegedly fooled his servant. A day of April 1st.

 

At the same time, another explanation is that hundreds of years ago, people celebrated the New Year on April 1st. The replacement of the old calendar with the new one created confusion. Initially, some people could not adapt to the change: they celebrated the New Year on April 1 instead of January 1, and for this reason, they were called "April Fools".

 

A Fool's Day tradition in France, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands — called "Poisson d'avril," "Pesce d'aprile!" to a person without realising it. This custom seems to date back to the 16th century.

 

The "Poisson d'avril" holiday is also celebrated in Canada, Portugal, and Spain. This holiday has spread to the Dutch and Flemish regions from French-speaking areas, under the name "aprilvis".

 

4. Trust nobody

 

5. Tomorrow

 

6. Born on this day

 

Fool's Day is marked in some areas for two days in the UK, with the fools being called a "noddy", while in Scotland, Fake Day is traditionally called "Hunt-the-Gowk Day". In the sense of a joke, nătărău), but having another meaning - that of the arrival of spring (April cuckoo).

 

In Poland, April 1st is when people make jokes and pranks, and "serious activities are to be avoided." Denmark, May 1 is known as "Maj-kat". Swedes usually celebrate April Fools 'Day" ("aprilsnar") while the less celebrated May Day Fools' Day.

 

In Spain, the holiday "Pescado de Abril" ("fish of April") was taken over the French chain, the Spaniards having their day of tricks, on December 28. On December 28, the Spaniards marked the "Dia de Los Santos Inocentes" (Massacre of the Innocents), the flight to Egypt and the rescue of the baby Jesus, considering that Mary and Joseph saved him with a "trick".

 

Some states in the southern United States celebrate The Week of Foolery, which begins seven days before Fool's Day.

 

It is expected that this year's April's Fool will come with pranks and screenplays in the press, which are more and more elaborate, but which also have a taste of credibility.

 

In recent years, Fool's Day has been an opportunity for the international press and websites to lower readers' foreheads worried about the economic crisis and the daily problems. Thus, social networks have tried to fool their users, announcing the introduction of new and unlikely services, while some sites have announced that they will close their operations.

 

At the same time, over the years, the international press has been making pranks since April 1, which readers have appreciated. These include Ikea's dog chair, "launched" on April 1, 2011, the BBC documentary Flying Penguins (April 1, 2008), and the left-handed burger launched by Burger King (April 1, 1998).

 

7. No news

 

8. Not good this year

 

9. Mood

 

The exact origins of April 1 are unknown, but assumptions and theories have taken various forms.

 

Fool's Day is associated with the late arrival of spring in early April. Nature plays tricks, "fooling" people with sudden changes in the weather. The custom dates back to Roman times. Laughing and joking, the Romans celebrated the spring equinox and the installation of spring.

Another hypothesis, accepted by the majority, states that the origin of April 1 is closely related to the change of the Julian calendar from the Gregorian one. In the old calendar, New Year's Day was celebrated on April 1 instead of January 1. After the change of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, during the reign of Charles IX, people initially had trouble getting used to the celebration of the new year on January 1. Until 1752, Britain refused to accept the new calendar. As time went on, greeting cards sent for the New Year on April 1 began to be considered pranks, often accompanied by funny gifts.

 

According to another speculative theory, Fool's Day is related to the Holi Holi Festival. This festival takes place in late March and annually reminds us of the victory over evil. During the festival holidays, the custom of lighting a large, purifying fire was maintained.

 

The Jews attributed a biblical origin to this day, linking it to Noah, who sent his dove to search the dry land after the waters receded from the ground on April 1.

 

Another variant is related to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who is said to have been sent from Anna to Caiaphas, then to Pilate, then from Pilate to Herod, and vice versa, after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. April. Where did the tricks start?

 

No matter where it comes from, April 1st is recognised as Fool's Day in most countries. Marked first in Europe, Fool's Day migrated across the ocean and then around the globe.

 

10. Pranks

 

11. April fools

 

12. Facebook

 

13. Silly goose

 

14. April is here

 

15. My life is a joke

 

16. Just a joke

 

17. Rent money

 

18. Pranked

 

19. Cruel pranks

 

20. Fooled

 

21. Why is the question

 

22. Own holiday

 

23. Fools day

 

24. Don’t believe anything

 

25. Not about jokes

 

26. I am gay

 

27. Just a prank

 

28. Joke

 

29. Good excuse

 

30. Posts on these days

 

31. All over the world

 

32. Gotcha

 

33. Cancelled

 

34. Every day

 

35. Reddit

 

36. Your face

 

37. Wait

 

38. Nobody believes me

 

39. Pregnant

 

40. Revenge

 

41. Not a joke

 

42. Same day

 

43. Trap

 

44. Still a joke

 

45. Good prank

 

46. Monumental prank

 

47. Fool

 

48. Plans

 

49. Here it comes

 

50. Not a fool