Note: I asked my friend Cayce Troxel if she would like to submit something for my blog as a guest post and she came through with a great piece about how maybe it isn't always fun to get caught up the in the bracket-mania of March Madness.
I texted Aaron just before the opening tip of this year’s NCAA tournament with a serious confession. “I didn’t do a bracket.” His immediate response? “What? Why?"
Such a reply was understandable. Since Sunday night’s announcement of this year’s tournament field, he and I had basically staged our own version of Bracketology. We had discussed, dissected, and analyzed the 68 teams, anticipating matchups and predicting potential Cinderellas. We listened to the arguments of Seth, Digger, and Co., texting our agreements and rebuttals back and forth. As is my yearly tradition, I purposefully watched the PTI guys breakdown the four regions and give their picks to win it all. I read John Feinstein’s column on The Washington Post. After all of that time spent digesting the bracket, you would think I possessed the knowledge to enter a megamillion-dollar tournament pool.
But that’s just it. March Madness isn’t about knowledge -- or at least not cold, hard, factual knowledge. It’s about skill, talent, matchups. The day, the time, the atmosphere. The hot hands, the foul trouble. The small guys having a big day; the big guys having a small day. While most bracketeers will say that predicting all that is part of the game, I believe that there’s something to be said for the unpredictable. By filling out a bracket, I force myself to root against this unpredictable evil; by not doing so, I allow myself the freedom to root for it.
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| Butler Blue II, Butler University's official mascot |
That doesn’t mean I don’t have favorites. I’d like to see the ACC (well, except for Duke) and Virginia teams do well. Jim Larranaga to work some more March magic; the Spartans to prove my favorite bracket manta, “We believe in Izzo,” right. “Pro” schools, like Florida and Kansas, to lose early; spoilers, like St. Mary’s and Colorado State, to lose late. The Billikens to prevail; the Shockers to shock; the Blue Jays to soar.
I’d like to see the Runnin’ Rebels return to their halcyon days and Butler Blue II make a return trip to the Final Four. Coach Bob McKillop and Davidson dancing in the Sweet Sixteen would be nice, while Louisville’s grotesque uniforms deserve to be retired early. What about a final, final, final rematch of Georgetown and Syracuse in the Final Four? And maybe Jay Wright’s pinstripes triumphing over Roy Williams’ plaid? How could you “boo” someone named Vander Blue (Marquette) or Hippolyte Tsafack (Memphis)? Or choose whether to root for or against famous offsprings, like Shane Larkin (Miami) and Glenn Robinson III (Michigan)?
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| Cayce at this year's ACC men's basketball tournament |
Obviously not all of these teams can win. At the same time though, it is rare that one bracket achieves perfection. Cheering for a team just because it is the underdog (or because the coach is cute) might seems silly, but then again, it seems even sillier to root for a squad solely because it makes your bracket’s Final Four.
An outsider would propose that you could just have a “fun” bracket, based on mascot or players’ good looks. All true sports fans know the folly in this though. Brackets aren’t for fun. Brackets are a serious business. Office bragging rights -- or maybe even money -- are at stake. Friends respect friends with good brackets and remember those who failed.
There really is no winner in Bracketville; everyone strikes out. Either the favorites meet in the Final Four, boring the basketball world, or the Cinderellas have their way, wreaking havoc on everyone’s grid.
The surest way to win at Bracketology? With no bracket at all.
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