The bracket is the product

March Madness is the last American sports event that still feels like a shared dare. Thursday and Friday of week one, you are watching a game you could not have named in February, and it is better than the title game sometimes. I filled out a bracket. I was wrong. That is the sacrament.

By the Final Four it is a TV show again. Fine. Eat the first weekend like it is the meal. The rest is dessert you did not need.

The first weekend is the one. After that, be honest about whether you still care or just have a square.