I like sports. I especially like baseball. However, my world doesn’t revolve around sports.

For instance, I could care less about the NFL draft or the NFL combine, but most of all I have little use for the angst that seems to accompany every NCAA National Bracket. People get upset, actually angry, about how some teams are seeded and “who’s in” and who got slighted. Really? Who cares?

In 1985 the NCAA expanded the tournament to 64 teams and more recently to 68 with these silly “play-in” games. Since that ’85 expansion the lowest (or is it highest?—don’t know, don’t care) seed to win was Villanova, a #8. In fact, no team worse than a #8 has ever even played in the Championship game and only four teams worse than a #8 have made it to the Final Four.

So, basically what that tells us is that if you aren’t judged to be one of the best 32 teams in the country chances are high you are not going to win it all. So why would anybody seeded #9 thru #16 ever gripe about anything? Those teams should just be happy to be there.

If you are one of the top 32 (and therefore have a legitimate shot to win the title), what difference does it make where you are seeded? If you are going to win the Championship, you are going to have to play the “better” teams sooner or later.

If you are a legitimate contender, your seed only matters if you are playing for second.