Going to March Madness in a pandemic

The view inside Hinkle Fieldhouse before Tech’s first round game against Loyola Chicago. All personnel and fans were masked and distanced, and no one but essential team personnel and players were even allowed close to the floor. // Photo by Jack Purdy Student PublicationsI crossed off a bucket list item quite unexpectedly last week: I went to a March Madness game. March Madness has always been a thing I’m only partially interested in when it happens because I can’t avoid conversations about it. It consumes American sports for three consecutive weekends before The Masters and Opening Day. Games are all over the country, and the upsets usually happen by such small schools that only a tiny percentage of the college sports fandom gets to enjoy it. The Tournament just never hit that close to me.

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