March may be ending, but the madness will continue for the rest of the week. The NCAA national championship game is scheduled for April 7 and fans everywhere are probably wondering how their brackets became so disastrous.

Across the nation, companies have seen a dip in employee productivity because of how distracting the tournament can be, according to a March 19 Chicago Tribune article, and The Chronicle is no exception.

The Chronicle held its own bracket pool for its readers and staff with a first place prize of a 32GB iPod Touch. Whether it’s a small prize, bragging rights or even the $1 billion prize Warren Buffet is awarding for the perfect bracket, there’s more than enough incentive to stop what you’re doing to root on the team you picked, all in the name of March Madness.

This is my third year working at The Chronicle and despite my specialized knowledge of college basketball, I have never won our bracket pool.

This time around, I have the University of Florida Gators, University of Wisconsin Badgers, Wichita State Shockers and Iowa State University Cyclones in my Final Four. I’m sure that by the time this issue hits the stands, my predictions will seem ridiculous—the regret is already sinking in. But that’s what makes March Madness so thrilling. You’re never 100 percent sure if the teams you pick will win, yet you hold on to the glimmer of hope that they will.

Despite the lack of workplace productivity, the camaraderie that the pool fosters is priceless. Witnessing coworkers who usually would not give sports a second thought cheer for multiple basketball games is heartwarming, particularly for sports enthusiasts like myself.

Everyone has some kind of competitive drive. My coworkers want to be the best reporters and writers, and when our award season comes around, everyone eagerly hopes to hear his or her name called. This time of year encourages that competitive nature and pulls a lot of people out of their sports-hating comfort zones.

There are only a handful of games left. The Final Four is April 5 and the only solid prediction I have is that no one is going to win the $1 billion Buffet has offered.

Listen to Nader Ihmoud every Monday night from 7–9 p.m. as he hosts the Benchwarmers Show on WCRX 88.1 FM.