If television ratings are any indication, the love affair with America’s greatest tournament has risen to an interest level not seen for more than a decade. Two No. 1 seeds are already gone, while a batch of Cinderellas -- Nevada, UAB, Xavier -- are subletting glass slippers for at least one more game, if not four.

Being that The List exists primarily because pointing out the negative is much more entertaining than looking at the positive, we have found five items to loathe about March Madness. Amazingly, we were able to find five that don’t even mention the words “Blue Devils.”

No. 5: Press tables and domes over rowdy fans and intimacy
Nothing looks more like a UN meeting than the stale environment the NCAA insists on presenting television viewers, with press tables five rows deep from courtside. No cheering, no fans, just journalists and their laptops.

Yuk.

How would the tournament look if the Cameron Crazies were placed in the plush press seats on one end of the court and the Kansas faithful were able to counter on the other end? It would look like, well, the kind of college basketball environment fans are used to seeing during the regular season. Spirited student supporters separate the college game from the pros. But because the NCAA wants to give writers the best seats, the Final Four’s greatest moments -- Jordan’s jumper to beat Georgetown, Smart’s shot to topple Syracuse -- all have a background that does not allow the viewer to see the energy and excitement prevalent throughout the rest of the venue.

And for no good reason.

As for the domes themselves, could the surroundings feel any less like college basketball? I know 40,000 more seats can generate millions more in revenue, but isn't the $11 billion CBS paid for rights to the tournament enough?

(In List trivia question: What was the venue and year of the last Final Four to be played in an arena and not a dome? Email your answers to the address at the end of the column)

No. 4: The play-in game
Two small conference teams battle for the right to get smoked by the No. 1 seed? No No. 16 seed has ever beaten a No. 1, and only a few in the history of the 64-team format have come close. Watching the play-in game is like watching the 64^{th and} 65th best contestants on American Idol perform after the winner has already been declared.

The play-in game also looks bad on most bracket pools. How can someone pick a team called “Play-in winner” over Kentucky? Then again, how could anyone pick a team called “UAB” over Kentucky?

No. 3: “One Shining Moment” leaves bitter aftertaste
Isn't it time to retire this song? The theme of finality in One Shining Moment is depressing when you think about the fact that only a very small percentage of players in the NCAA tournament will continue to play in the NBA. So in other words, enjoy it now, kids, because, "It's your one shining moment. ... Your life will hereby suck after you are eliminated. The basketball career you have known for most of your existence is OVER."

Fade to black.

No. 2: CBS, Billy Packer, and never knowing when to switch
Billy Packer says he doesn't want to be part of the controversy of St. Joseph’s earning a No. 1 seed, then he agrees to publicly debate Hawks’ coach Bill Martelli on the justification of the tournament committee’s decision (Martelli wisely declined, then coached the Hawks past Wake Forest to reach the Elite Eight). But Billy, if you agreed to trade verbal barbs with Martelli on your network, then how can you claim to not want to be part of the story, oh Omnipotent One?

And while we are on the subject, with all the great analysts available in college basketball (Bill Rafferty, Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Larry Connelly), why are we subjected to Packer’s non-descript, passionless analysis every year?

As for CBS, they still don’t seem to understand when the right time is to jump from one non-competitive game to a closer one as it nears its conclusion. Oftentimes the Tiffany network will switch from one game to a different one after a commercial, only to find the new game has both teams huddled during a timeout, which leads to a quiet panic in the control room, which prompts taking the commercial break with the new game while three more still have plenty of live action.

No. 1: Show them the money
According to the FBI, $3 billion is bet illegally on the NCAA. $11 billion is paid to the NCAA in television rights revenue. Tens of millions more is generated in ticket and merchandise sales.

So how much of this rather lucrative pie is cut for the players?

Multiply all of those numbers by zero and you’ll have your answer.

Shouldn't the core figures of the entertainment provided at least receive the same amount of money that an on-campus job would pay them for the time committed? We’re not talking about NBA salaries or even WNBA salaries here, but how about minimum wage to compensate for the time they could be earning money while practicing, traveling and playing? A scholarship is nice, but considering all of the billions college basketball players generate for the NCAA, is it not time to finally give two or three percent of it back to those who leave their guts on the floor?

Ah, March Madness.

It is America at its very best…

…And worst.

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