- David told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen that he can’t watch March Madness
- The Seinfeld co-creator admits he only pays attention to the NBA and the NHL
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Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the few to correctly call Oakland’s loss to third-seeded Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Meanwhile, boxing legend Evander Holyfield believes UConn will repeat as national champions by defeating Duke in the finals. And as for actor Ryan Reynolds, he envisions North Carolina topping Purdue for the Tar Heels’ seventh title.
But there’s at least one celebrity who refuses to indulge the captivated public by unveiling their March Madness brackets to the masses: Seinfeld co-creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David.
“You know what, can I make a confession here,” said David, a lifelong sports fan from New York Rich Eisen of NFL Network. ‘This tournament – how much can I follow in the sport? Do I need to know who’s on Drake? I mean, this is crazy, crazy.”
David has a point. There are 68 teams in the tournament, many from major conferences like the Horizon League or Missouri Valley, with little-known rosters populated by largely anonymous players.
Every now and then a small school has a breakout star, like Division II transfer Jack Gohlke, who scored 32 points on 10 3-pointers for Oakland in Thursday’s stunning rout of Kentucky. But when he entered the tournament, Gohlke was an unknown nationally.
There’s at least one celebrity who refuses to get into the spirit of March Madness: Larry David
Seinfeld co-creator Larry David discusses March Madness on the Rich Eisen Show
David continued, dropping the name of a small Catholic school in northern Indiana – even though it was not eligible for the tournament.
‘Valparaíso?’ David added. ‘I know names in Valparaiso? This is insane. I do not know anything. Maybe I’ll watch the semi-finals, but that’s all. What can I do?’
David isn’t shy about discussing his love for his favorite professional teams in New York, but without his alma mater, Maryland, in the NCAA men’s tournament, he doesn’t have much of an interest.
“I’ve got the Rangers, I’ve got the Knicks; “I can’t follow all these teams,” he said. ‘How do people do it? How do they do that?’
Eisen then drew a comparison between Long Beach State coach Dan Monson, who has continued to coach the team since his firing at the end of the regular season and miraculously led them to a Big West Conference title and a tournament berth.
Monson’s story is similar to David’s experience on Saturday Night Live, where he famously quit as a writer only to return to the studio the next day as if nothing had happened.
“I quit,” David said. “And then I came back Monday morning and pretended it never happened. That was the (idea of) my neighbor Kramer, the real Kramer.’
The Kramer mentioned by David was the real basis for the famous Seinfeld character.
‘You know what? I thought it might work,” he continued. ‘I thought it was a great idea. I thought I had nothing to lose.”
Washington State defeated Drake in the first round on Thursday, not that Larry David cared
But while he doesn’t follow the tournament closely, David did enjoy Monson’s story questioning the existence of the university in Southern California.
“Good for him,” David said. “Where is he, Long Beach State? That’s a college?
‘There are so many. How can there be so many athletes? How can so many people play these games? Look at all these colleges and high schools; they all have teams.
“Let’s go to the colleges, there are really good people playing on these teams. How can there be so many great players?’
The first rounds of the NCAA women’s and men’s basketball tournaments are currently underway, with their championship games scheduled for April 7 and 8, respectively.