Have you filled out your March Madness bracket yet? Maybe you’ve already been invited to a tournament party. Will you pick all the favorites or take a few long shots?

Upon reading this, you have until noon Thursday to complete your pool or pools as the NCAA tournament will officially begin.

Like the Super Bowl, March Madness has been effectively and skillfully promoted and woven into the Americana fabric to varying degrees for all of us.

You can easily get caught up in the roller-coaster range of emotions. Keep the Rolaids handy.

This year, it could be pulled more into the spotlight with the country still feeling some patriotic and unified vibes from the men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams’ gold medals.

If you’re a Lehigh fan, you can make the argument that the tournament begins Wednesday evening as the Mountain Hawks are in a play-in game against Prairie View to determine what team plays top-seeded Florida in Tampa on Friday.

Whatever you do or whichever way you go with your bracket, keep it real and keep it fun.

March Madness has evolved into a temporary one- or two-day or two-week diversion from the issues in our lives.

The NCAA Tournament arguably has developed into an American sports institution similar to how the Super Bowl has made sports fans and no-sports fans stop and take notice.

In turn, the NCAA has turned it into a multi-billion-dollar tournament that has stretched itself over networks CBS, TBS, TNT, truTV for three weeks to seemingly provide nonstop basketball.

The ironic thing here is that there will be a large number of viewers who will be watching college basketball for the first time this year in the tournament. You know then how it has become part of our lives in mid-March.

The 1979 Larry Bird-Magic Johnson showdown helped put college basketball back into the sports spotlight, and CBS’ legendary Brett Musberger coined the phrase “March Madness” in 1982. (Actually, the phrase can be traced back to 1939 when an Illinois high school official wrote an essay by that title to describe an exciting high school tournament.)

March Madness is a great example of alliteration that has been marketed well, and the term can easily roll off anyone’s tongue. The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight are other examples that also have been put to good use.

In 1985, the tournament expanded to 64 teams, and it became a major part of the sports landscape, and most Americans began to take notice.

A Times News Sports Facebook poll stated 83% of pollsters found it to be an American staple.

So, how do you play your bracket, for money or for fun?

Unless you consider yourself an expert, most of you are playing it for amusement only. Remember, these are high-pressure, lose-and-out games where upsets shouldn’t be surprising.

If you’re not an expert, you can play by names or colors. Take all the teams with blue uniforms or maybe teams like Cal Baptist, Kennesaw State, High Point or Santa Clara.

Even if you pick all the favorites, you’re still not guaranteed to be successful overall. Despite all of the “bracketology” information available to dissect your bracket, this isn’t a pure science.

Instead, everyone’s sheets of integrity can appear to have as many solutions as a Rubik’s Cube.

Yet, the NCAA and the networks have worked together masterfully in the past to piece together an alluring package of games and highlights to tug at all of us in some way. Expect to see more of the same at an elevated level.

Good luck with your involvement in March Madness, or simply watching some good basketball.

If you do wager, remember the saying, “bet with your head, not over it.”

On that note ... gotta run and fill out my pool.

Hmm, what teams should I pick? Hawaii and Lehigh?

Nah, I’ll stick with Duke and Arizona along with the presumed safe ones.

Email Jeff Moeller at tnsports@tnonline.com