‘It’s a big void’: Santa Fe fans lament loss of March Madness
It there was an upside to the cancellation of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, it’s that Joe Ray Anaya’s and Aaron Fowler’s brackets were perfect.
Otherwise, the two Santa Feans couldn’t help but hide their disappointment at missing out on an American institution.
“Most likely, I would be at work, watching games streamed on my phone, depending on the bandwidth,” said Anaya, a human resources administrator with the Department of Game and Fish. “Maybe, I’d even be shooting in some audio or checking on scores from my desk.”
Alas, that is not to be. When the NCAA canceled all spring sports and any remaining winter sports last week in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, it took away a much anticipated trademark event for many in the country.
In fact, a 2017 survey conducted with more than 400 managers and human resources specialists by Seyfarth Shaw at Work, a subsidiary of the law firm Seyfarth Shaw, showed they ranked the tournament third among tech-related office distractions. Much of that has to do with the morning-to-night cavalcade of games that millions of people watch or listen to throughout the day.
Many of them were involved in tournament pools, in which they try to predict which of the 68 teams will advance to the next round and who will end up victorious when it ends on the first Monday in April. That doesn’t even begin to account for those who gambled on games, whether it was through wagers with friends or if they went to Las Vegas, Nev., (until last year) to lay their money down on a few games.
Most of all, the tournament was a way of bringing people together to watch games and enjoy in the spectacle.
With the coronavirus touching every facet of American life, the conversations have changed.
“Usually, my wife [and I] would sit down and watch some March Madness games,” said Joe Vigil, who is the public affairs officer for the New Mexico National Guard, as well as the head boys basketball coach at Santa Fe Prep. “Now, we’re talking about the kids and life and stuff.”
Fowler, who is a real estate broker, said the reality of trying to curb the pandemic cannot be taken lightly, but he admits the NCAA Tournament was something he always looked forward to watching. He still remembers filling out his first bracket at the age of 7, and he has continued that tradition — until now.
“It’s a big void,” Fowler said. “It just sucks because everything else has been taken away. I kinda wish ESPN would run one of those old tournaments where one of the Cinderella teams won it.”
Fowler added that the absence of the tournament has an economic impact on Santa Fe.
A former employee at the old Catamount, he said many workers could count on the second-round games Thursday and Friday to help them make significant amounts of money in the form of tips from people who went there to watch the games.
He remembers a packed house for a tournament game involving UNM on St. Patrick’s Day, and the row of people watching from around the bar was nine to 10 deep.
“A lot of those people are making half of their rent on just those two days,” Fowler said. “And then it just goes right through the weekend.”
Vigil, though, said it is important for the state and the nation to get control of the coronavirus, if only for life to regain a sense of normalcy.
He is making the best of the situation by getting ready to view game film from Santa Fe Prep’s recently completed season and read a few books to help him prepare for next season.
He added that the lack of sports helped him reconnect with his wife, which is something that the NCAA Tournament distracted him from.
“Let’s all do our part and stay healthy and find other ways to live our lives,” Vigil said. “Catch up on a book or enjoy some good family time.
“My wife said, ‘My gosh, we hadn’t talked like this in a while.’ Sometimes, we forget to check on each other.”