Duke's players and fans weren't the only ones
celebrating the
Blue
Devils' win against Baylor Sunday night.You can bet CBS
executives were doing the same thing.When the day started, the TV folks faced the very
real possibility of trying to sell a
Final Four
composed entirely of Cinderellas. That's not as appealing as it sounds. If
everybody’s a Cinderella, than nobody is. The story doesn’t work without
an evil stepsister. Nobody watches it.That’s why CBS had to be hoping Baylor didn't beat
Duke, the team nearly every college fan loves to root against.A Bears win would have
made for a marvelous Sweet 16 and Elite Eight weekend, one of the best
ever. It would have given us three 5-seeds — Butler, Baylor and Michigan
State — along with West Virginia, a team that last went to
the Final Four in
1959, when Jerry West was their leading player.Unfortunately, that's a
group with great stories and no drama. The public usually wants
superstars and celebrity. When the biggest name is Michigan State, that
doesn't cut it. It has nothing to do with the quality of the basketball.
True fans would be delighted to see Baylor instead of Duke playing for
the championship, but true fans don’t drive the ratings, casual fans do.
| Slideshow |
| Best
of the big danceCheck out the top
images in this visual tour of the 2010 NCAA tournament. more photos |
|
To
get the casual fans involved, you need the biggest names. In
college basketball,
Duke's on that shortlist. (Kentucky or North Carolina are also on that
list.)