“I Can’t Keep My Eyes Off the Games:” Students Watch March Madness During Class

While walking to class during a passing period, an empty Diet Coke bottle comes flying out of a classroom door.

English teacher Korin Pinsky runs out to clarify that she had missed the trash can she was aiming for, so that it wasn’t mistaken for a student. 

Someone shooting their trash into a wastebasket may seem like an everyday occurrence, but during March Madness it’s easy to pretend you’re shooting the buzzer beater in the final. 

March Madness is a basketball tournament where 64 teams qualify to compete against one another in knock-out rounds. In 2023, there was a TV viewership of 10 million people for March Madness.  

Even though classes proceed as normal, many students at the school don’t miss out on being part of the millions of March Madness’ viewers. 

The tournament’s infiltration of the school day has taken over to the point of eclipsing class time, as students watch games on their phones, compare bracket predictions, and exchange trash talk.   

“This is just such an exquisite experience, and I can’t keep my eyes off the games, so it’s infuriating when teachers won’t let us enjoy the series of games when it is only around in March,” said junior Brody Kennedy.  

Students can be found in the Media Center plugging their computers into adapters so the games can be shown on a larger screen, or even in the Design Lab since its dark, secluded and has a massive flat-screen TV.  

“It’s a one-year event where kids are very invested in the covering of sports. I’m a big sports fan, I’m a big basketball guy. So, I know kids are pretty invested since we’re all curious,” said junior Mark Ramirez, who is also a part-time basketball coach.  

Some staff like Science and TAG teacher Katarzyna Trainum have broadcast the games onto the white boards in their classroom.