I won my dad’s March Madness office pool when I was five years old. Who knew a kindergartener could predict that the No. 3 seed Syracuse Orange would win the national championship? Since then, I have been glued to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, witnessing history in the making.

With the tournament in full swing, there have already been upsets galore, buzzer-beaters and, of course, the heavily favored Kentucky Wildcats’ domination. These are the reasons why President Obama completes a bracket, colleges cancel classes for the week and March Madness, now in its 76th edition, is the biggest marvel in all of sports.

1. The Unpredictability – The odds of selecting a perfect bracket are one in 9.2 quintillion – that’s a nine and a two with 17 zeros. According to Bleacher Report, you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning and winning the lottery than going 63-for-63 on game predictions. Not knowing how the favorites will fare, which team will be knocked out early and which team will come from nowhere to win it all makes the tournament electrifying to watch.

2. The Tradition – When the much anticipated Selection Sunday rolls around, excitement builds up for the beginning of another unforgettable tournament. The annual Bracketology television shows and blogs commence and the country gets ready for college hoops at its finest. Being able to sit in front of the television for a whole day, flipping through game after game is what makes the tournament so exciting.

3. The Bracket Competition – Whitman students always have a competitive edge, be it cheering on the football team against B-CC or getting in on the March Madness fun. The school’s largest pool with the biggest payout is the Vikings Bracket Challenge, with almost 90 hopefuls in the field this year.

4. The Love for the Game – Although a person’s bracket strength fluctuates with each elimination round, the spirit of college hoops seems to escalate annually. The freshmen-turned-stars, masterful coaching and fire in the bellies of players and fans show the passion for college sports is only increasing.

March Madness is one of the best sports spectacles of the year and hopefully, with a bit of luck, this hardwood fanatic will relive the glory days of that memorable kindergarten victory this year.