Let the games begin
March Madness has met Hoosier Hysteria.
The 2021 NCAA men’s basketball tournament officially kicked off on Thursday with First Four games being held at Assembly Hall and Mackey Arena.
A total of 67 games will be played over the course of 19 days in Indianapolis, Bloomington and West Lafayette this month, and while attendance will be limited at all venues, Indy is expected to get a boost of at least $100 million from the NCAA tournament thanks to visiting teams and fans.
The influx of visitors is nice, but what may be even more significant is the national exposure that Indianapolis — and the state as a whole — will receive as millions of viewers tune-in to the games.
In a recent article by the Indianapolis Business Journal, it was estimated that more than 200 hours of national TV coverage will be focused on the games — worth $43.3 million in exposure. Only the 2012 Super Bowl ($33.8 million) at Lucas Oil Stadium can compare to that kind of national media attention for Indiana.
The word "Indiana" will be said thousands of times over the three-week span, and we won’t ever get tired of hearing it.
Hopefully the broadcasts and articles will encourage people to visit, and maybe even move into, the state.
Ahead of the pack
In a season where nothing was given, Columbus North junior Emily Moore made the most of her opportunities.
The gymnast won the state title on the beam with a score of 9.725 last weekend at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena. She also finished third on the bars (9.65) and floor (9.525) and 12th on the vault (9.475) to earn a second-place overall finish in the all-around competition with a 38.375.
Moore was the first North gymnast to win an event at the state meet since Ashley Holiday and Claire Thompson won the vault and beam in 2017.
North finished sixth as a team at state with 107.85 points while Valparaiso took top honors at 111.3.
East senior Taylen Lane, who missed the entire regular season due to injury, also competed at state as an individual and finished 39th on the beam.
All of the gymnasts at state represented the community well on the big stage, and we look forward to continuing to follow their careers.
Running right on time
One of the community’s largest annual events is on for 2021.
Organizers with the Mill Race Marathon confirmed last week that they’re planning on having the race this fall.
Due to the falling number of COVID-19 cases, and rising number of vaccinations, organizers said they feel confident that a safe race can be held on Sept. 25.
Registration has been opened on millracemarathon.com, with all of the events that locals have come to love over the years still on the schedule.
It’s exciting that plans can start to be made for events without having to worry about COVID-19, and we hope that everything can go on as scheduled.
