NCAA Bracket Virgin

Now I am a girl who likes sports.  Need examples?  Of course you do.

1) I was a 3 season athlete in junior high - Volleyball, Basketball, and Softball.  Oh, except for 8th grade when I was a 3+ season athlete because in addition to Softball I also threw shot put for the track team (The track couch thought because I could throw a softball I could throw an 8lb. metal sphere.  It wasn't really the case...)

2) Like every child who was born from 1980 - 1983, the first dance I learned was the Super Bowl Shuffle.

And possibly the most telling example:

3) I witnessed Jim Thome hit his 500th home run.  While wearing a Jim Thome jersey.  On Jim Thome bobble head day.  And I cried like a baby as the fireworks went off over the ballpark.

But today I did something that I have never done before - I filled out an NCAA bracket.  Why?  Because I can't say no to some of my coworkers, that's why.

As I sat there, starring at the most complicated sports betting chart I have ever seen (horse racing doesn't count - that's an activity, not a sport) I was at a loss.  All around me coworkers were chatting about rankings and games and points and a bunch of other things that made me feel more out of the loop than an Amish kid at a iPad release party.

See, I didn't graduate from a college that was ever in the NCAA tournament.  Actually, my college didn't even have a sports team (unless you count ultimate frisbee... which I don't).  I guess that's what I get for going to an art school.

Which meant I had to come up with my own creative way of choosing which teams would advance throughout March Madness.

My solution - I chose teams based on the people in my life.  Namely, did I know anyone who went to that school?  If the answer was yes, I chose that team.  If no, I didn't.  When it came between two teams where I knew people who had attended both schools, I asked myself, "Who do I like more, as a person, not as a team?"

Scientific?  Nope.  Strategic?  Hardly.  Creative?  Hells yeah.

So here are a few of my picks explained, including who I think will take the whole thing.

Vanderbilt vs. Harvard
Does anyone actually know anyone that went to Harvard.  Well, okay, I kinda knew this guy one time who went there.  And I've been there on vacation.  But I had to go with Vandy because my friends little sister goes there and I have always had a fondness for the state of Tennessee.

Saint Mary's vs. Perdue
I picked Saint Mary's because my friend went there.  Then I found out later that the one in the tournament was in California and I was thinking it was the one in Minnesota.  Oops.

Marquette vs. BYU
I grew up in Chicago, which means I knew about a couple dozen people who headed north of the Cheddar Curtain and went to Marquette.  Plus, since Big Love has been cancelled, I don't think I can count on anything from Utah.

Kansas vs. Detroit
Remember when I mentioned I was quite the athlete in junior high?  Well my softball coach from way back then had a Kansas Jawhawk sticker on the back of her car because her daughter went there.  Ever since there I have always liked Kansas, though I am not sure if the school is in real Kansas or Kansas City...

Gonzaga vs. West Virginia
Okay, I don't know anyone that went to either one of these schools.  But come on, who the hell doesn't pick Gonzaga as a default based on the name alone?

And to take it all, I picked:

I know, kinda of a long shot, but I like the long shots.  Plus a coworker and my cousin both went there, it's relatively close to Chicago, and their team is called the Hoosiers, which according to Wikipedia, no one can really explain the origin of...

So wish me luck in my NCAA endeavours.  I'll keep you updated here and on Twitter as to how I am doing.

~ The Office Scribe