NCAAT: Why do all of the courts look exactly the same?

[StateFans]

Link from “For the Win”. Link has pics.

For the past six years, viewers for the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, particularly those with Masters degrees in the Remote Control Arts, have inevitably wondered: Why do all the courts look the same no matter where the game is being played?

It’s a good question. Whether you’re watching a game in Buffalo, San Diego, Raleigh or Spokane, no matter whether your cable box is tuned to CBS, TNT, TBS or TruTV, the court has the same exact design. There’s a blue NCAA logo at center court, a blue free-throw area, a similar grain on the whole court except for a lighter mid-range area outside the key and thick, black baselines with the city and arena name written on opposite sides of the court.

[snip]

But by stripping away the individuality of floors from the host universities, the NCAA tournament has turned the look of its thrilling tournament — played in 13 arenas across the country over three weeks in the beginning of spring — into something vanilla. Flip the channels and you don’t know which location you’re watching.

There has a better way to control the appearance of the tournament than by forcing everyone to look the same. Why is an event known for its unpredictability made to look so predictable?

[Wulfpack]

Just thinking back, this notion may have crossed my mind, but I never turned the channel because the floor wasn’t authentic. I kind of put this in the “who cares” category. And it has to be about branding. People don’t watch these games because the color of the floor. Although if it were ever played at Oregon I might have to turn the channel.

[Author]

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