March Madness, the mass basketball hysteria that bubbles up each spring, is just around the corner. Beginning Tuesday with the First Four round, otherwise rational adults are reduced to cheering and screaming crazies, capable of making choices only when options are presented in bracket form. (What's for dinner? Let's check the chicken-vs.-salad bracket!) But while the tournament is full of upsets and surprises, most fans end up watching the games from the same boring couch year after year. Luckily, Chicago has seen the opening of plenty new sports bars since the 2012 tourney, enticing both die-hards and casual fans with craft beers, big burgers and, of course, gigantic screens. Here's what each bar brings to the table; make your own bracket if you must. --Kate Bernot
kbernot@tribune.com | @redeyeeatdrink

>>Find more college basketball affiliations and gameday food and drink specials in our college sports bar guide for March Madness.