One of my boys and I were “googling” last week what NCAA Men’s Basketball is worth and who even thought of the idea in the first place? (By the way, the advertising alone is worth $11 billion according to Business Insider.)
Was it a random idea, or well-planned out like an entrepreneur striving to see their dream come true? Well, the truth is it seems to have two potential starts… One from a high school basketball tournament in a small Illinois town where a Henry V. Porter coined the term “March madness” in the 1939 Illinois Scholastic (details from the IHSA). Also in 1939, the term started (or spread?) to college when Coach Harold Olsen of Ohio State University brought it to the National Association of Basketball Coaches. A few years later, in 1984, Bob Walsh of the Seattle Organizing Committee is credited with starting the March Madness Celebration, according to Mashable.
As with many “good ideas” and with the “American Way” fully behind it, it was a good idea built on to another good idea, and eventually evolving today to what is WAY MORE THAN A BILLION DOLLAR IDEA.
The truth is that even though this picture states that “I love this game,” I truly only love it during the March Madness run each Spring. Who doesn’t thrive on a bit of friendly competition and a distraction from the everyday? The excitement of others watching their favorite teams is contagious and, no matter how silly to some, I love the environment to jump on the “bandwagon” so to speak. So, while I don’t love the game “per se,” I love the fun and excitement that comes from it!
Our theme this week is IDEAS. I’m leaving you with this thought today: What idea do you already have or have you possibly heard that you think just may become great with a little “pizazz” – AKA, your personal spin – added to it? Give it some more thought if it “stirs” you… It may just be the next BILLION DOLLAR IDEA – or make that an $11 billion idea.
(Photo Creds: Pinterest, courtesy of Zazzle)
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