Even the most casual of sports fans had to come away pleased with this year's NCAA tournament. Plenty of surprises, close games, buzzer beaters, over-sized arenas, and cheerleaders with way too much makeup to keep people satisfied. While some would complain that there was no "star power" in the Final Four, the championship game literally came down to the last shot. Can't beat that, right? Right??!!??
For the past two years, I've done a bracket challenge with my girlfriend. I'm not much of a competitive person, but I have gone in with the belief that my "knowledge" of college basketball would be enough to prevail in a "friendly" challenge between lovers. Of course, I probably should have considered the fact that she had won this challenge twice before, and studies show that three year olds (who knew NOTHING about college basketball) do better on brackets than "experts." So really, there was no way that I could possibly win this challenge.
But it's the NCAA tournament. March Madness! Throw conventional wisdom out of the window! So the bet was on. Winner gets dinner at a restaurant of their choice. I'll just recap the Elite Eight/Final Four picks, and maybe try to give a little "insight" on why in the world my picks turned out to be so stupid. I figured it would be kind of cool to wait a couple of days before actually posting this, because it makes my choices look even more crazy. And, let's just say that I've been crying myself to sleep the past few nights over losing this thing.
My picks
Elite Eight: Kansas, Ohio State, Syracuse, Brigham Young, (no, really) Villanova, Duke, Kentucky, New Mexico (did I actually watch any basketball?)
Final Four: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke
Championship: Kansas over Kentucky
My Take: I almost went with calling this an "expert's take," but we all know that this would be a lie. From "watching" basketball, (translation: occasionally watching ESPN analysts make their "case," with a few games here and there) I felt pretty good about the fact that the number one seeds were the best teams in the field. Kentucky's complete lack of making free throws? Who cares! Syracuse limping down the stretch? We're not here to talk about the past? Duke not being in a Final Four since before Justin Bieber was born (that's probably not a fact...or is it?)? I didn't CARE. I also felt good about BYU (they had God on their side, can't beat that!) and New Mexico (apparently I was in my own hot tub time machine). But once again, I'm not here to dwell on the past...
The Lady's Picks
Elite Eight: Kansas, Ohio State, Syracuse, Kansas State, Villanova, Duke, Marquette, Kentucky
Final Four: Kansas, Syracuse, Duke, Kentucky (Wait a minute, did she copy my bracket?!!!?!?)
Championship: Duke over Kansas
Her take: She made her picks by using complete voodoo. OK, maybe that's not accurate. Her "strategy" is picking schools that sound familiar, or names she liked. For example: she had Xavier in the Sweet 16 because she "liked the name." Hey, whatever works!
Anyway, you have to like the fact that she picked the eventual national champion. Not her fault that Kansas decided to crap out in the second round! Anyway, a few words from the winner: "I'm pretty sure I've picked Duke to win for the past three years...so my persistence has finally paid off. Everyone else may hate you, but thanks Coach K!"
So, there you have it. Maybe I should give up this Bracket Challenge nonsense. (Are you kidding?!!? We're totally doing a suicide pool next year!) It's proof that trusting college aged people to do anything is just a very bad idea. But then again, I bet Kanye and his girlfriend didn't do a bracket wager!
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