In Defense of an NCAA Bracket Obsessed Citizenry

This is a response.......nay, a defense of one of the great traditions in sport. That of the March Madness Bracket sheet. A fine writer, at The Legend of Cecilio Guante, makes a compelling case for abandoning the endeavor altogether. In short, the Scribe argues that the bracket is a harlot whose yearly betrayals can mortally wound---time invested but love never returned by the Mistress Bracket.

I say that it is better to have Bracketed and Lost than to have never Bracketed at all....I'm here to argue on behalf of the masses.....that the Bracket may be a devilish seductress but it is one we should embrace. Lovers are never without fault...

Opening Argument: Nostalgia...

It is with the NCAA Bracket that lasting memories are created. Without a bracket filled would my March Memories be so rich, so vivid? I think not. I remember my first hunt...it was 1991, the year of UNLV's undefeated run to the final Four in defense of their 1990 Crown. They returned Larry Johnson, Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony, Stacy Augmon and George Ackles and had every reason to repeat....but they fell to Duke. I remember UNLV's starting five but its not my lasting impression of that tourney.....I picked my first 12 seed versus 5 seed upset special when I chose Eastern Michigan to knock off Penn State. My competitors looked at me like I was clairvoyant....and you better believe I played up my revelatory skills.

There was 1992 when I took Kansas.... Adonis Jordan and company were toppled by the Miners of El Paso and my Bracket was Busted in Round Two. I'm still pained by the play of the Jayhawks but my true angst would not be cultivated until the Elite Eight when Kentucky met Duke. Kentucky's story was beautiful...kids who dreamt of being Wildcats so they dutifully sat through program probation until they were seniors.....and then, upon returning to the field of 64, had their souls crushed by a perfect from the field Christian Laettner. I had never followed Kentucky basketball and I was unbelievably devastated by what I had just watched. My hatred for Duke was born....

In 1993 I penciled the Fab 5 in as Champs and two important things happened with that bracket. I watched the Final Four in San Felipe, BC Mexico and it changed my life...now the epiphany is for another post but as you recall Webber made an illegal T.O. call, The Fab Five lost, and another in a long line of brackets was busted.....and, of course, a second team from Tobacco Road made my "Teams Whose charter I want to crash in the Andes so they will cannibalize each other" : List of Hate. Curse you Rick Fox and Donald Williams...

As the years passed on I could recount a unique anecdote from each tournament* but this post is for a cogent argument and in that vain I shall proceed.

The Remedy for a Hateful Heart....

I mentioned my disdain for both Duke and North Carolina, the perennially over exposed media darlings, who devastated me in both 1992 and 1993. Curious what a little time and the prospects of winning a pool can do for a broken heart. As 1998 rolled around I began to enjoy the play of Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter and Ed Cota.....and it didn't hurt that NC was the arch-rival to those dirty Blue Devils so to the Tarheel wagon I hitched my bracket dreams. Alas, their run ended in the Final Four but the lasting memory was NC's redemption in my eyes.......My antipathy for Tobacco Road's 'Heels ended, all because of a black and white photocopy scrawled in red ink.

The next piece of heeling that took place for me came in 2001.....the year I achieved (in my mind) bracket perfection. It could not happen without my submission to the Duke Blue Devils, without my forgiveness and acceptance of Shane Battier, Jayson Williams, and Michael Dunleavy Jr. They brought me to bracket immortality** and to this day I think back fondly on that Duke team. My heart was further cleansed of ACC abhorrence...

Your Alma Mater or Bracket Immortality?

This is a false choice for all those who debate the validity of choosing your mid-major Alma Mater over a Major Conference's at-large bid. Always choose your Alma Mater for at least one win! This provides you with solace in that you did not betray your school but also, if incorrect, will only cost you a point in the end. If victorious you look like a genius. Sometimes a point can be enough to cost you a pool victory but sometimes that's just the way it goes....what's Ten Bucks amongst friends? Most importantly though, your loyalty having been tested, you are free to attend your Alma Mater's homecoming.

Pool Tradition and Friendly Gatherings

Perhaps the most important aspect of NCAA Brackets is the sense of yearly tradition instilled. I've acted as a pool administrator for every year since 1992. The last ten pools have all been run out of the same location downtown and, that folks, is tradition. Each and every year the pool culminates with a viewing at a Gaslamp bar so the requisite posturing and trash talking can take place. Each year the winnings are divided up so that there is a little side pot for he/she who most closely predicts the championship game final score and this always ensures drama regardless of the actual competitiveness of the game. It also ensures that one and all will attend the bar viewing and in the end that's all that matters......because it is here that friends gather, friends who, as time passes, see each other all too infrequently. Can you think of a more sound argument than that of camaraderie as a reason for continuing your yearly pool? Search your feelings...

Bracket Purity: The Deer Hunter and His Single Bullet

There are those who fill out multiple brackets all with different winners and disseminate them across the continent. This ensures that they can brag about having picked this year's Valpariaso/Gonzaga/George Mason/Davidson/etc......this is folly and impurity on a grand scale. One Man--One Bracket. Therein lies the challenge. Can you rise to the occasion, choose one form, and stick with it? Like DeNiro's Deer Hunter, hunting with a single cartridge, I too hand in only One version of March Madness. It is my Madness and it is my yearly challenge.

One Shot

In the end it is your choice.....to forfeit $10 bucks.....to act as an expert on teams you've never heard of.....TO HAVE FUN! Brackets are much like golf....there is always room for improvement, mastery never attained. Except of course for this year....read it and weep, baby!

Louisville Memphis Villanova Oklahoma
Louisville Villanova
Louisville !!!

*The 1997 tournament was the best ever. While attending school in Flagstaff Arizona we gathered at Chili's to watch the UofA try to knock off the defending Champion Kentucky Wildcats and to celebrate my good buddy's 21st birthday. Dollar-u-call-its when ever Arizona had the lead was the Bar's edict for the evening....it was a seesaw battle through regulation and into overtime......you never saw a group of guys run to the bar so quick to cash in on that buck drink...the Pitino tempo ensured that we were legless by night's end.....ahhhh College.
**On the 1-2-4-8-12-16 scoring scale I believe my final was 136 points. I still have the bracket and if I can find it quick enough I'll scan and post it. Beat that score!