Bracketology

I'm not a big sports fan. I just live with one, and I raised one, so I am exposed to sports whether I like it or not. Generally speaking, I don't like pro sports, but who doesn't watch a little NFL football now and then, even maybe root for a sentimental favorite on occasion? And it's tough to escape the World Series, or The Masters, or Wimbledon. We live in a very sports-oriented society. I have my personal favorites among the various pro sports teams. I like the Seattle Mariners, but I also like the New York Yankees. I'm a fan of the Indianapolis Colts, even if they are supposed to be in Baltimore, and the Oakland/LA/Oakland Raiders (thank God they went back home to Oakland). My sentimental favorites will always be the San Francisco 49'ers and the Green Bay Packers - two teams who really would have to disband if they ever considered moving. Can you imagine the Los Angeles Packers or the St. Louis 49'ers? Seriously. But generally speaking, pro sports leave me a little cold.

I do, however, enjoy a little college sports on a fairly regular basis. I like college basketball and football, especially around playoff time. Heck, the football bowls are inescapable during the holiday season. Who hasn't watched the Rose Bowl at least once? And March Madness has overtaken television. All my favorite shows are on hiatus while the NCAA tournament is being played. As I mentioned below, I like Duke a lot, as does The Spouse. My oldest son is a diehard Tar Heels fan (U of North Carolina and Duke's arch rival), and has been since he was about 8. It makes for some interesting banter between The Spouse and him during basketball season.

The oldest son likes fantasy sports, and participates in a fantasy football league each year. This year he got us involved in a contest they're having on espn.com. He setup a group, and had each of us create our brackets for the tournament. You pick who you think will win each matchup, all the way to the championship game, and put in a score for the final game as a tie-breaker. While you're doing your bracket, you can't see what the other people have put in until the day the playoffs start, at which time, all the brackets are locked and no changes can be made. Obviously, that's so you can't go copying someone else's bracket. Well, I put my bracket in all on my own. Some of my picks were based on things I've heard commentators say, some on what I've seen when I've been forced to watch games, some on sentimental reasons, and some were just outright guesses. The Spouse and Son made their choices based upon their keen knowledge of many of the teams, their players, records, etc. Some choices were sentimentally driven, but most choices were based upon facts. You can enter up to five brackets. The Spouse and I entered one each. Son entered three. After the first day of play, The Spouse and I were tied for first in our little group - and we were 100% - but Son's three brackets were not doing so well. One bracket was at 10%, the other two were at 20 and 40%. I, who knows nothing, was kicking Son's butt!

Friday, The Spouse and Oldest Son were in attendance at the first round in Spokane. They got to see Winthrop beat Notre Dame. The Spouse went on and on about how good Winthrop is, and how he hopes they beat Oregon. We hate Oregon in this neck of the woods. They also saw Oregon play Miami of Ohio; Texas, with their phenom, Kevin Durant, beat New Mexico State; and USC beat Arkansas. The Spouse commented on how gorgeous the Winthrop and the Oregon cheerleaders were. Of course. He also commented on how differently attired the cheerleaders from the West are from those from the South and East. The Southern and Eastern cheerleaders donned the classic cheerleader outfits, while the Western cheerleaders showed a lot more skin with very low cut and high rise tops, belly rings, super short skirts, and such. Interesting. Today, they are at the second round, where Winthrop will take on Oregon, and USC will take on Texas. The Spouse just called. They are down on the floor as the teams are warming up, and he is astounded at how big these kids are. He said it makes him glad he's not a college kid wanting to play basketball, because he's a shrimp next to them. He said the girls are even more gorgeous close up. Of course. Play starts in an hour. I'm glad they're having fun.

After yesterday's play, my bracket is down to 52.9%. I picked Duke to go to the third round. They didn't. I picked Gonzaga to make it to the second round. They didn't. And another sentimental choice, I picked Washington State to advance to the third round, where I had them losing to Georgetown. That won't happen. But I did pick Xavier to win in the first round, and they did. And I've picked Tennessee to beat UVA, and they may well do that (it's 64-59 with 3 minutes left). Another risk I took was picking Memphis to go all the way to the finals, where they'll lose to UNC - highly unlikely they'll get that far, but it was a gut thing. So, I'm caught up in bracketology, and it's kind of fun.