March Madness (for real this time) is coming and I'm here for it

Target Center is where the road to the Final Four will end next month for women's college basketball teams competing for an NCAA title.

That's right. "March Madness" is coming back. The men's Final Four rocked U.S. Bank Stadium three years ago, and the women's Final Four was here 27 years ago. That women's tournament, however, wasn't officially "March Madness."

This is the 40th anniversary of the women's tournament and the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX. Among the many questionable decisions made by the NCAA over these years is this headscratcher: the women's tournament was not allowed to be part of the organization's "March Madness" branding.

The catchy phrase that signals pump-this-into-my-veins excitement had been earmarked for only the men's tournament. That changed with an announcement last fall and now, finally, both tournaments can be described as "March Madness."

This should have been done years ago. As in 40 years ago. Somehow, for 39 years, no one thought of allowing the women to use the brand.

But the NCAA has been in cleanup mode since embarrassing photos emerged from last year's tournaments that revealed women had fewer and worse training facilities during its tournament than the men did. A gender equity review was launched, and the NCAA has taken steps to avoid such disparities.

You can bet the NCAA is hoping for a rip-roaring, exciting tournament to help distance the disappointing feelings of a year ago. You can bet organization leaders will work overtime this month to show it can do better.

It might be fitting that the tournament is at Target Center. Minneapolis continues to distance itself from recent events and show it can be better, too.

Killings and crime. George Floyd and the Black men who came before and after him. Police violence and protests. All of this out there for the world to see. Two summers of discontent, and downtown Minneapolis continues to feel the effects.

Minneapolis could use a rip-roaring, exciting tournament to show a national audience that folks are heading back to downtown, supporting area bars and restaurants and are eager to watch the four best college hoops teams in the land. Sports can be a component of any return to normalcy, as many Wolves and Twins fans are heading back to downtown Minneapolis to cheer their teams. This is a good hoops town, which a Final Four will prove for the second time in three years.

Target Center back in 1995, remarkably, was the site of UConn's first national title. Geno Auriemma was one of the coaches who ran the same triangle offense that Phil Jackson's Chicago Bulls made popular in the 1990s. The 1994-95 Huskies, fueled by Rebecca Lobo, Jennifer Rizzotti and the 6-7 Kara Wolters, stormed to a 35-0 record and defeated Tennessee in the championship game.

We did not know then that UConn was going to be a 30-year juggernaut. It has flooded the WNBA with talent, including Maya Moore, who won four titles with the Lynx, and Renee Montgomery, who won two with Minnesota. The Huskies won a record 111 games in a row over three seasons. And Auriemma is still teaching his basketball, as the Big East tournament champs entered the weekend 25-5 and eyeing a return trip to Target Center.

That would set up a homecoming for a certain player from Hopkins named Paige Bueckers, the reigning national player of the year who recently returned to action following a left knee injury. If the Huskies make it here, the gym could be full for her on the day of the free open practice.

Take away the story lines, and it's basketball being played at a high level. The players continue to improve and women like Bueckers have become stars.

But the story lines add flavor to the event. It will be a time to highlight growth in women's basketball. There's outrage when they are not provided the same facilities as men. The women's selection show, for the first time, will follow the men's show on Sunday evening. The field is expanding from 64 to 68 teams.

And the women's Final Four can finally be referred to as March Madness.