Those darn Ramblers

And now the griping will begin, as surely as your bracket is tiny atomized fragments of ash.

The best story of this NCAA Tournament is headed to the Final Four, but some people won't like it. Some people will say those endearing Ramblers from Loyola, who have so unexpectedly become America's Team, have literally gone too far. The upstarts knocking off the big boys is a nice storyline for the first weekend of Da Tournament, the narrative goes, but it needs to end before the second weekend is out. It needs to do this because what America really wants to see is Duke or Kansas or someone of that pedigree in the Final Four for the umpty-umpteenth time.

Me?

I say hooray for the Ramblers, and Sister Jean, too. And neener-neener-neener to the poopyheads who think the Final Four will be diminished with them in it.

The radio yaks who advance this notion always fall back on TV numbers to justify their position, which is that the Final Four will somehow be a lesser show because it includes a lowly 11 seed which hasn't seen the Tournament in 33 years.  They may be right about that, at least if their metric is TV numbers. But TV numbers and what makes a great show?

Those are two different things.

Listen: Inevitably, the TV numbers are going to be bigger when a Duke or a Kansas or one of the other blue bloods is in the Final Four for the umpty-umpteenth time. This is because the blue bloods have huge fan bases who are going to tune in. The Loyolas of the world do not, and so, yes, the numbers may not be as lofty.

Although with all of Chicago on board with the Ramblers, I wouldn't take that bet on a, well, bet.

In any case, this does not mean America in general wants to see, say, Duke in the Final Four again. Most of America is heartily sick of Duke, and just as sick of most of the other high-end programs. I mean, outside of the fan base bubble, how many of the rest of us really want to hear the same old tired storylines again?

And so, yes, hooray for the Ramblers. They are, undisputedly, the story of this tournament. They have, in fact, defined this Tournament,  in very much the way George Mason defined it back in 2006 when it got to the Final Four, or when Butler came within one delinquent bounce of winning the whole thing in 2010.

Those storylines made those Final Fours immeasurably better, TV numbers or not. Which, by the way, were the highest Final Four numbers in six years in 2010 and 2011, the two years Butler reached the title game.

So, yeah, poopyheads. Neener-neener-neener.