March Madness Indeed

When I met my husband, almost nine years ago now, he introduced me to what is considered the pinnacle of college basketball known as "March Madness."  Although anyone can tell you that I am not one to seek out sporting events to attend, watch, or even read about, I enjoy the occasional hype and even find myself actually feeling passionate about certain games, teams, or players from time to time.  This passion is usually based on some "inside look" ESPN has aired, resulting in my emotional connection to the story, and is, in my opinion, marketing genius.

If you aren't familiar, March Madness is what happens when the entire NCAA (college) basketball season boils down to 68 teams chosen for one month (March) of tournament play where they are picked off in five rounds until there are only two teams left to play for the tournament title and be named National Champions.  Each team gets a "seed number" at the beginning of the tournament and is listed on a "bracket" by who they will play during the first round, which is based on their school's location. Anyone can print off a bracket, fill in who they think will win each round of the tournament and then watch to see if their teams win or lose.

As you can imagine, when he first explained this process to me, my instant response was that I could never win.  First of all, it didn't make all that much sense and, most importantly, I don't even watch basketball or have any clue about the teams.  My husband assured me that knowledge of the game has very little to do with it, that a low seed (like a twelve) could pick off a higher-seeded team (like a five) which could help or hurt anyone's bracket and that it is anyone's guess as to who would win.  He also reminded me that the team's seed numbers were based on their season's ranking, so, if I was in doubt, I could just choose the number one seeds to win, which could improve my odds.

Please note the fact that simply thinking I could possibly beat him in tournament picks for anything sports related was really exciting and far too tempting to pass up. So, we wagered dinner and a movie of the winner's choosing and the rest was history.

My Bracket Philosophy:

• Presentation - Over the years I have laminated my brackets (pending my access to a laminator), color-coded my wins and losses and made sure that my handwriting and choice of bracket (various websites have them available for print) make for the best possible presentation.  I believe that feeling good about my bracket, even aesthetically, is directly correlated to how confident I feel about my picks.  Ask me how happy I was the year our brackets were sponsored by Hooters.  Answer: Not at all.  
• Choosing the Winner - My scientific method for choosing teams is strategically based on, aside from their seed number, the team mascot, team color, and where the college is located. 
• For instance, Illinois is represented by the "Fighting Illini."  In whose heart does that strike fear?  Also, a bird would not beat a cat unless the bird is an Eagle or a Hawk and the cat is Indiana State's "Sycamore Sam" (pictured below).

• In regards to color, I like a cool color (my mom would credit this tendency towards my being classified as a "winter") so I tend to pick teams who wear blue, gray, silver or purple.  Very rarely would I root for a team wearing orange, red or yellow.  
• Location is the least of these, but my theory is that students who live in states with year round seasons have a better chance of winning because those students are more likely to practice on their own courts outside of indoor, required team practices. For example, I don't think a team in Colorado would do as well due to the high altitude and cold weather.  On the other hand, a team that lives too close to the coast might be distracted by the beach in the off season.  Therefore I am more likely to pick teams from the midwest and/or south who I think have the best potential for winning based on weather.  Well, that and because there just simply isn't much else to do in these parts of the country besides play sports.

Based on these three factors, I was only down by one in terms of years of winning coming into the 2012 season.  That is especially impressive considering, which my husband often reminds me, that it has only been two years since I stopped asking in mid-November when the brackets were coming out.  Now when I ask, he says "at least you have started waiting until March to ask."

This year, I don't know what happened to me, but my bracket (as Granny would say) "went to pot."  I could blame it on being tired, not having eaten enough that day, or that I just didn't give my bracket enough thought or ask enough questions to make informed decisions. 

All I know is that, somehow, I ended up going completely against my own system and chose Syracuse who, if anyone is paying attention to this tournament, got knocked out of the tournament by Ohio State in the Elite Eight.  That is only the fourth round!!  

For some reason, when the seeds were first announced, Syracuse (a number one seed) stuck out to me.  Typically, I will print my own bracket and take the time of filling it out.  This year, I came home from work, quickly filled in the blanks on the bracket my husband had printed, and was done in under 5 minutes.

I was so mad when they lost, and can I just say that those guys did not cry hard enough?  Who knows what movie I am going to have to see and which Fat Mo's Burger I will be dining on (yes this is actually the name of a restaurant and, yes, it is one of his favorites).  Although I do love a good burger or BBQ sandwich, mediterranean food is all the more tasty when you know you've won the right to choose it for that night's dinner. 

Honestly, I had thoughts of writing those boys a mean letter to let them know of my disappointment, that I should have known better, and that thanks to them I lost out in the brackets a week early.  With help, distance, and time, this notion has since passed, but that is how mad it made me.

Of all of this, I think the thing that makes me the most upset is that had I just followed my own philosophy, I would have never chosen Syracuse.  They live in New York, wear bright orange, and their mascot, well, I am just ashamed to say that I didn't even ask before picking them, but it is the "Big Orange Blob."  I don't even know what that is, but he obviously isn't out to beat anyone and I don't think his arms are even long enough to dribble.

So tonight, the two teams going head-to-head for the National Championship are the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the University of Kentucky Wildcats.  Two teams who wear blue, one from the midwest, and one from the south.  My pick is for Kentucky to take the win because not only does Kansas have red with their blue, but a bird would never beat a cat. 

     

So, if you do decide to fill out a bracket next year, take my advice and get some rest, eat well, and take your time picking your teams.  Otherwise you might end up with an East Coast, orange blob that gets knocked out in the fourth round.

Definitely Maddening.