The Globe - March Madness is coming tonight to Boston, where some of the most closely watched and fiercely fought games of the NCAA men's tournament will be played before 19,000 crazed fans at TD Banknorth Garden. But what is Boston's response to the Sweet Sixteen frenzy? So far, a big yawn. One of the biggest sporting events of the year... appears to be having the same impact on the city as a dentist convention, offering further proof that Boston is a pro-sports city that only occasionally flirts with the college game. "What? What tournament?" said the sales clerk at a downtown Foot Locker, dressed like a referee... Of two dozen people interviewed... [o]nly two could name just one team that is playing, and only one person named all four teams... Even Mayor Thomas M. Menino... couldn't name all four teams. "I know Duke is coming," Menino said. "And Villanova. . . . You caught me off guard."..."I don't think people watch those games much," said Oscar Amarante, a 26-year-old flight attendant.

Give the Globe credit for one thing. They might be a dinosaur. They might be on the verge of bankruptcy. But one thing the Globe has always had a genius for is coming up with some preposterous sociological thesis and then scouring the city until they find two dozen nitwits who support their premise. Bromance. Coed bachelor parties. No one cares about the East Regionals. How long did the Globe reporter have to traipse through the mall before they found a guy who said he didn't know about the tournament? And he's dressed like a referee! Therefore their point is proven. It's science. Never mind that scalpers all up and down Causeway St. will be raking in 100 bucks above face value tonight and the Garden will be banged out. That doesn't prove anything. Because when a shoe salesman, an inarticulate buffoon of a mayor and a 26 year old flight attendant say they don't care, then no one cares.

So how much do we care? Vote "10" for "I'm more excited than Dickie V" or "1" for "I'm with Al Bundy, Mumbles and the stewardess guy."