It starts with an e-mail or a sign-up sheet getting passed around via intra-office mail. Sometimes it’s a casual question between co-workers: “Who do you like in the tournament?” Before you know it, betting brackets are getting filled like red plastic cups at a frat party.

March Madness is here, and by “here,” I mean everywhere. The 64 teams in the annual NCAA College Basketball Tournament are secondary to the event itself, which is quite possibly the greatest sporting event in America.

But why does this month-long event inspire such rabid craziness among even nonfans? The answer is threefold: It’s the perfect storm of content, duration and drama.

The NFL, the MLB and the NBA may make the big bucks, but nothing ignites passion like college sports. And instead of two teams in one big game like in football, the NCAA Basketball Tournament starts with 68 (counting the two play-in games) teams that hail from coast to coast and from small conference to the powerhouses.

Unlike the Super Bowl, which is by far the biggest one-day sporting event in the country, March Madness lets the intrigue, the Cinderella stories and the drama build over four consecutive (long) weekends. And there’s no better drama than 18- to 22-year-olds chasing a dream, no matter the size or pedigree of the schools they represent.

Of course, a month-long event like this makes for an outstanding opportunity for those “opportunists” in the office. You know who I’m talking about: the weaselly Monday morning quarterback who is constantly updating his fantasy team, with only minor athletic prowess aside from his ability to create an abnormally large ball of rubber bands.

Every office I know has this weekend warrior, and that’s a good thing. And so is March Madness.

CNBC estimates that $3 billion is wagered annually in office pools alone during the tournament. That’s on top of what Vegas gets in legal betting. Furthermore, it’s estimated that 80 percent of employees fill out their brackets to the tune of around five bucks a pop, and several of my colleagues have multiple brackets in multiple pools.

Millions of employees in every industry in every state will participate. They will research teams and game information online. Some will even watch live, streaming video of the first 56 games (thanks to CBS).

Managers will shake their heads at the estimated $1 billion of lost productivity (and some estimates are nearly twice that) as employees huddle in their cubicles, take long lunches while hovering over their laptops and check their Blackberries repeatedly for the latest updates.

But instead of waging war against this annual fixation, many companies see the potential benefits of accepting the madness, and set about finding methods to work it to the company’s advantage. These methods include finding creative ways to offset the impact of the tournament on the company’s bottom line and using it as an office social event, where camaraderie is built between buckets.

Indeed, March Madness can be used as a unifying force in the office, where the folks in accounting break down statistics with the creative thinkers from the marketing department. The movers and shakers in the corner offices can debate the hot upset picks (five-seed versus 12-seed is the most common long shot to pay off) with the guys at the loading dock.

The embracing of March Madness as a time to build esprit de corps is more important than ever, given the current economic environment and depressed salaries of many industries. In fact, an informal poll of my former colleagues at KVUE who have moved on to other enterprises back up the idea that collegiality is at an all-time high during March Madness, especially when employees are allowed to enjoy it with their coworkers – bosses included.

There are still some hardliners out there who completely eschew the idea of any employee spending work time (or a sick day) on something that does not have a tangible benefit on the company’s bottom line. The statistics rarely take the side of the fans on this issue, but middle ground is easy to find.

Instead of live video streaming on countless computer screens around the office, why not offer the games at a centrally located television? Or allow employees to wear their favorite team’s apparel on designated days? Or even – and I realize this is extreme – sponsor a company-only office pool with prizes tailored specifically to the employees?

It’s hard to imagine any fan, casual or rabid, not thinking that’s a pretty cool place to work. At the very least, it would put to rest any worries that the management is out of touch with the rank-and-file.

And let’s face it: These days, a little morale building can’t help but bolster the bottom line. So go on: Get wet. Everybody in the pool!

Matt Mitchell is a sports reporter for KVUE Sports. For more information, contact him at mmitchell@kvue.com.