Bracket Madness Leaves Questions

As many of us are doing this time of year, I think about filling out a bracket for the NCAA Basketball Tournament. However, as an NCAA student-athlete, I'm actually not allowed to bet a single cent on anything even closely related to a sport. The rule basically encompasses anything that the NCAA has a championship in.

So, why in the world can't I bet a few bucks with my buddies on some college basketball games that I have absolutely no influence on? I guess there are the obvious reasons. You let kids start betting on games, they then start to bet more, more people get involved, and soon enough people could be throwing games. I think that the line between what is legitimate to bet on is still blurred though. I would love to be able to put $10 on a bracket. I would never even consider betting on a game I was playing in. There aren't exceptions for the majority though, and that's the problem. Most of us college athletes would never do anything that would affect our school or our sport in any way.

While I still don't like the rules in place, speaking strictly on a personal level, I do understand why they are in place. So, while everyone else fills out their brackets and has their fun, I'll wait another two years. When those two years roll by, I am going to bet the crap out of that bracket.