{"product_id":"when-march-went-mad-the-game-that-transformed-basketball","title":"When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A must-read for anybody who considers themselves a basketball fan.\"Michael Wilbon  The Washington Post  On March 26  1979  basketball as we know it was born. The NCAA championship game played that day launched an epic rivalry between two exceptional players: Earvin \"Magic\" Johnson and Larry Bird. Though they played each other only once as college athletes  that game transformed the NCAA tournament into a multibillion-dollar enterprise and laid the foundation for the resurgence of the NBA. To this day it remains the highest-rated basketball game  college or pro  in the history of television.  In the national bestseller When March Went Mad  Seth Davis recounts the dramatic story of the season leading up to that game  as Johnsons Michigan State Spartans and Birds Indiana State Sycamores overcame long odds and great doubts to reach the games grandest stage. Davis also tells the stories of their remarkable coaches  Jud Heathcote and Bill Hodges  and he shows how tensions over race and class heightened the drama of the competition.  Davis combed through several years worth of newspaper and magazine coverage  interviewed nearly one hundred people  and watched dozens of games to reconstruct the colorful  historic  and improbable narrative of how Larry Bird and Magic Johnson burst on the scenea coming-of-age story that continues to resonate. The Final Four  the NBA  and the game of basketball have never been the same.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44984708235317,"sku":"ByrdShop_0805091513","price":28.44,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780805091519.jpg?v=1770841517","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/when-march-went-mad-the-game-that-transformed-basketball","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}