WILDER THAN AN ELVIS SIGHTING; IT'S MARCH MADNESS

Despite the curious and fleeting 12 inches of snow that graced our region last week, March brings to Southeast Missouri the promise of spring. At odds with this, however, the month exalts people of this area with the best of a pastime rooted in winter. While "March Madness" comports itself with hype that at times seems to exceed presidential campaigns or Elvis sightings, there is nothing like the action for persons who enjoy basketball ... a description that fits many in this publication's reach. Our advice: Enjoy.

This area has a rich basketball history, and it's little wonder that the game, celebrating enormous popularity nationwide, continues to be embraced so intensely here. First, basketball is a sport suited to rural areas like ours; small schools can rise to great heights because the game requires few players, little equipment and a playing area that isn't particularly big or intricate. Second, when small schools succeed, they can become the hub of a community's interest during months when a good night's entertainment in a warm gymnasium is welcome. Third, some basketball programs have propelled success to an extreme, constructing dynasties at schools like Charleston, Scott Central and, of late, Portageville.

Thus, the screaming hoopla that proclaims March Madness as a sort of sporting Mardi Gras is squandered in these environs. The fan base is indigenous. We were reared on the stuff (and by that, we don't mean the dunk.)

Still, it doesn't hurt that so many teams of interest to this region remain alive in the most high-profile tournament, the NCAA Division I Men's Championship. The University of Missouri-Columbia caps its splendid and unexpected season, including an undefeated mark in conference play, with a top seed in the West region. The Tigers open tournament competition tonight against Navy. Another program that has achieved a tournament berth comes from an hour away at Carbondale; Southern Illinois University goes to the tournament for the second year in a row and plays Minnesota in the first round Friday night. In college basketball this season, there are probably no more compelling stories than that of St. Louis University, a storied athletic program, down for decades, that is returning to the big tournament this year for the first time since 1957; the Billikens play Maryland late this morning.

None of these games minimize the rooting interest of those fans whose hearts go with other regional teams -- Illinois, Arkansas, Kentucky, even Tennessee State of the Ohio Valley Conference -- that are part of the tournament field. And beyond this, there is the participation of area athletes -- Lamont Frazier, a star at Charleston before going to Missouri, and Marcus Timmons, who excelled at Scott Central before moving on to SIU -- to boost our enthusiasm.

Of even more local interest, there is basketball of the non-televised sort that will equally entertaining here Saturday. The third annual Southeast Missourian Indian Alumni Shootout will be held at the Show Me Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds from the event benefit the Cape Girardeau Civic Center, an outstanding local institution that offers young people, particularly those from less-advantaged backgrounds, with a variety of services and programs in a safe and drug-free environment.

Beyond the good basketball, beyond the good cause, beyond the widespread support offered by a team of dedicated sponsors for the event, the Shootout serves as a sort of reunion for former Southeast Missouri State basketball players and a tribute to the man who coached most of them, Ron Shumate. Coach Shumate is the glue that binds this game, and the affection that passes between this man and the student-athletes he stewarded since the early 1980s is indisputable. Without the coach, who serves as referee for Saturday's game, there would be no Shootout, and we urge people who have enjoyed Indian basketball during his tenure to turn out and show their appreciation.

There are a good many basketball fans in this area, and this is a good time to be a basketball fan. Take some time to indulge in this special March phenomenon.