See America, Watch Mediocre Basketball

A surprising number of people have made the decision to attend a baseball game at every Major League stadium. I can see why. It sounds great: See baseball, see America, eat greasy popcorn. Pretty much perfect, right? There are two problems, though. First of all, MLB teams are, of course, only located in major cities. ESPN calls Kansas City a small market, but compared to Ruston, Kansas City may as well be Beijing. And the popcorn is way too expensive. So, if you're really determined to see America by attending a sporting event at every stop, there's only one real answer: NCAA Division 1 basketball.

There are currently 345 D1 college basketball teams, all competing for the same national championship. Imagine if the Everett Aqua Sox were to make a trip to Wrigley Field to play the Chicago Cubs. Or if the Sally League champion received an automatic bid to the MLB playoffs. That's what college basketball is. The NCAA Tournament is the great equalizer--theoretically, it makes a game at Cal State Northridge's Matadome just as meaningful as a game at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion. It may seem inconceivable, but, as of this writing, even 0-25 Centenary still has a shot at the national title.

So there's my preemptive answer to the inevitable question, "Seeing America is nice and all, but why in the world would anyone want to see a game at all 345 D1 schools?" To sum it up: Because I love basketball and because I love that schools with vastly different resources compete for the same championship.