Let the madness begin Local resident gearing up for return of NCAA tournament pool
Yuba City resident Jerry Fish has witnessed and strategized over countless college basketball games during his lifetime.
He said the game itself brings a level of excitement that surpasses professional sports like the NBA.
College basketball hits its peak of interest each year in March for what is known as March Madness, which is the NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments.
It’s back this year following the 2020 tournament getting canceled for the first time since its inception in 1939 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While it will be different with it being played in only the state of Indiana (six venues) and with limited fan capacity, Fish said the return of the tournament comes at a time when there is a pressing need nationwide.
“It adds a level of excitement for a society that is starved for it,” said Fish, who relocated to Yuba City from the Bay Area in 2003.
Since becoming a Yuba
Sutter resident in the early 2000s, Fish has maintained his long-standing tradition of running a tournament pool that includes his friends, family and coworkers.
He said it has grown each year (with the exception of 2020) since his first pool in 1987. He is expecting to have about 70 entries this year following the unveiling of the brackets on Selection Sunday, March 14.
Fish said almost half are from the Yuba-sutter area.
He scores each bracket by hand at the end of each week and updates the participants in a mass email.
It’s a treasured hobby for Fish and he is thrilled to have it back this year.
With the loss of a few traditional power houses known as “Blue Blood” programs, Fish expects the tournament to be even more of an adventure this year.
“Anybody can beat anybody on this stage and that’s the excitement,” he said. “Rarely does a No. 1 seed win the tournament.”
He knows the tournament is going to look different this year, but it won’t diminish anything.
“I am glad they’re doing it and I am thrilled,” he said.
The prospect of more upsets given the lack of power houses in the field might even make this year more of a must-see event, Fish said.
However, he said that it may make his job as tournament proctor more challenging.
“It will make scoring more complicated because you are likely to have a lot more cross outs throughout the bracket than in years past,” he said.
Fish’s bracket will be updated in the Appeal each week throughout the month of March.