It was late last Thursday (early Friday in the East, actually) when it finally dawned on me. There really is a reason ESPN.com users clicked onto Backetology more than nine million times last season.

It's not because you're college basketball junkies (although that may certainly be true), and it's not because you have nothing better to do (presumably). I think it's because few sports stir the passion of their fans more than college basketball.

How else to explain what I witnessed last week in the Pacific Northwest?

On New Year's Eve, the good people of Spokane, Wash., filled Gonzaga's "Kennel" as they have for every home game for the past five years. They watched the hometown Bulldogs drop a classic overtime thriller to Saint Joseph's, then stood and applauded both teams as they left the court.

Two nights later, I got to cross one of the truly great campus venues off my personal "to do" list. McArthur Court at Oregon is even better than advertised, a classic wooden barn that rates with the Palestra and Cameron among those places where you simply must see a game.

To me, college basketball isn't really a spectator sport; it is more of a participatory event. Spend two sweaty hours in a place like MacCourt, even with the Ducks coughing up a late lead to Arizona, and you've had your workout for the day.

We do Bracketology in this space for the same reason Gonzaga has a "Kennel Club" and 10,000 Oregon fans act like ducks, braving rain and mud, to see their Ducks. They just can't help it, and neither can we (even if their team can't rebound).

If you are a first-time reader, welcome. Such frank "team talk" will dominate this space from now until Selection Sunday. If you are a long-time Bracketology follower, we thank you for making this upgraded site so popular last season.

Each and every Monday through Championship Week, yours truly will bang his head against a wall and project the NCAA Tournament field. As usual, the projections are mainly for discussion at this point. A month from now they turn serious and, by March, become nervously accurate.

And the best part about the site is you no longer have to take my word for "why" or "where." Each team in the bracket comes with a pop-up link that includes the most important data and rationale behind its seeding and placement. If you don't agree, just wait. An updated bracket will be posted next week.

In the meantime, I'll continue to "take your calls" at the new email address below. The best questions/comments will make it into our midweek "Bracket Banter" column. You can also "Chat" with me every Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. on ESPN.com.

Thanks and happy hoops!

Joe Lunardi is the resident Bracketologist for ESPN, ESPN.com and ESPN Radio. He may be reached at bracketology@comcast.net.