If you’re not a basketball fan, this seems like a huge waste.  But if you ARE, then it’s time well spent . . .

A study found the average March Madness fan will dedicate a full day-and-a-half of their life to it this year . . . 36 total hours.

That includes 3 hours filling out brackets . . . 13 hours watching games . . . 5 hours of highlights . . . 5 hours discussing it with friends and family . . . 5 hours reading about it online . . . and 3 hours placing bets.  (That’s only 34 hours, so some of those may have been rounded down.)

It also found 26% of people who are obsessed with March Madness have skipped work to watch a game before . . . 76% have a favorite team they’re pulling for . . . and 30% plan to pick them to win the whole thing.  So, pretty optimistic.

The average fan won’t lose hope until their team is down 19 points in the second half.

(The tourney starts March 19th, and the final is April 8th.)

(SWNS)

(Two other March Madness stories are also in the news:  Coors Light is selling a March Madness advent calendar.  And Buffalo Wild Wings is doing a Beat the Buffalo contest, where an actual bison will be picking winners.)