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Let Them Be Mad: Your Kids and Fantasy Sports

Thursday, March 18, 2010

printable-march-madness-bracket.jpgIn the world of sports, the month of March is less about the great weather and more about the madness.

Madness, you say? Mad about what?

The NCAA tournament, or "March Madness", as it is referred to by many, captivates the sports world and gambling community like not many annual events can. The tournament, which officially begins today, is known mostly for those who fill out the tournament brackets, predicting who will win the games.

Besides Super Bowl pools that require buying boxes in grids, the NCAA bracket contest is the most wide-spread form of mainstream gambling in the United States. Brackets are filled out by more than one million people annually, including many famous celebrities. President Obama even fills out his bracket every season.

Nearly every popular website promotes bracket contests, usually for free, with a major prize for winners. ESPN, one of the most popular of these sites, only requires that an entrant be thirteen years of age to win the $10,000 grand prize. It has been criticized that contests like these promote gambling to young adults.

However, I can vouch for the fact that it does not always have to be that way. When I was still in grade school, my mother would bring home a bracket from her office. Being a huge sports fan, I would fill it out and give it back to her. Competing against some of the best lawyers that the Tri-State area had to offer, I was third out of roughly thirty entries. Money was on the line and my mother let me spend it on something that I wanted.

My mother always kept things in perspective for me. I always stayed obsessed with sports and didn't need money to be involved to enjoy it. Sports, especially college sports, can be enjoyed for the thrill of the competition, even if there is no prize to compete for.

For all parents who have children that are sports fans, embrace their passion for fantasy sports and contests like these. Be involved in their love for the games and keep a watchful, but supporting, eye on their involvement.

Posted by Robert Aitken on March 18, 2010 10:00 AM
 

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