March Madness

In a supermarket near the Austin Convention Center, a giant stack of soda cases touts the upcoming college basketball tournament, a big deal here, where the University of Texas is a perennial sports powerhouse.

But "March Madness" in Austin could just as well refer to SXSW, which draws tens of thousands of people to town, and is expected to do so again this year, in spite of the dismal state of the economy.