Your Average JoeEvery Dog has it's Day....and Bracket?
March 16th 2011 16:36
I watch a lot of NCAA basketball throughout the year. Because of this, many people that know me figure I should win the March Madness pool every year. And while I have been fortunate enough to win it 2 out of the past 3 years, most people who know college basketball know how much of a crapshoot it is. Recently, I have just latched onto a few teams early in the year and when the bracket came out, stuck with them regardless of their “tough road” or inconsistent play down the stretch.
But enough about me. In an effort to show the amount of knowledge needed to fill out a successful bracket, my brother and I decided to fill one out for my dog, Duke. There are a few simple rules we established for Duke in filling out his bracket:
1. Obviously he never picks against his team, Duke.
2. Being a dog, Duke picks heavily for teams with dog mascots (his friends) and heavily against teams that have a version of a cat as mascot (his enemies).
3. Duke is a yorkshire terrier, all of 10lbs, so when the teams aren’t dogs or cats he tends to go for the friendlier mammal, or the mascot who would be friendlier to small dogs like him and when he still can’t decide, he leans towards the higher seed. For example, in this year’s tournament Duke picks Kansas to beat Louisville because they are both birds and Duke doesn’t hold a grudge against either so he picks the 1 seed Kansas.
4. But again, Duke is no idiot, although he has rooting interests like all of us, he begrudgingly picks the all the 1 and 2 seeds (even Kentucky last year and Pittsburgh this year) in the 1st round knowing that would be bracket suicide to have a 16 over a 1 or a 15 over a 2. But after the 1st round, all bets are off.
5. He HATES UNC.
*On a lighter note: Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t sit around all day thinking who my dog would pick for the final four. This exercise started out as a joke between my brother and I and it took about 10-15 minutes to accomplish.*
Now doesn't that sounds like a simple enough strategy? Duke’s entry was entered into the same bracket I participated in last year, featuring 28 participants. And wouldn’t you know, Duke finished 3rd. That’s right, filling out the bracket the way a yorkie named Duke would, we picked the National Champion (Duke) as well as another final four team (one of the very few in the country to pick the Butler Bulldogs) and finished 3rd in the pool. All this with Duke’s other final four teams (the Georgetown Hoyas and Washington Huskies) bowing out very early.
As for this year, who knows? Like most bracket fillers, Duke can’t seem to ignore his loyalty to his team and the teams who helped him last year. With that being said, it turns out Duke has the same final four as last year (Duke over Washington and Georgetown over Butler) with Duke taking home the title. Just in case you needed any last second advice…….
But enough about me. In an effort to show the amount of knowledge needed to fill out a successful bracket, my brother and I decided to fill one out for my dog, Duke. There are a few simple rules we established for Duke in filling out his bracket:
1. Obviously he never picks against his team, Duke.
2. Being a dog, Duke picks heavily for teams with dog mascots (his friends) and heavily against teams that have a version of a cat as mascot (his enemies).
3. Duke is a yorkshire terrier, all of 10lbs, so when the teams aren’t dogs or cats he tends to go for the friendlier mammal, or the mascot who would be friendlier to small dogs like him and when he still can’t decide, he leans towards the higher seed. For example, in this year’s tournament Duke picks Kansas to beat Louisville because they are both birds and Duke doesn’t hold a grudge against either so he picks the 1 seed Kansas.
4. But again, Duke is no idiot, although he has rooting interests like all of us, he begrudgingly picks the all the 1 and 2 seeds (even Kentucky last year and Pittsburgh this year) in the 1st round knowing that would be bracket suicide to have a 16 over a 1 or a 15 over a 2. But after the 1st round, all bets are off.
5. He HATES UNC.
*On a lighter note: Don’t get the wrong idea. I don’t sit around all day thinking who my dog would pick for the final four. This exercise started out as a joke between my brother and I and it took about 10-15 minutes to accomplish.*
Now doesn't that sounds like a simple enough strategy? Duke’s entry was entered into the same bracket I participated in last year, featuring 28 participants. And wouldn’t you know, Duke finished 3rd. That’s right, filling out the bracket the way a yorkie named Duke would, we picked the National Champion (Duke) as well as another final four team (one of the very few in the country to pick the Butler Bulldogs) and finished 3rd in the pool. All this with Duke’s other final four teams (the Georgetown Hoyas and Washington Huskies) bowing out very early.
He has been talking trash all week
As for this year, who knows? Like most bracket fillers, Duke can’t seem to ignore his loyalty to his team and the teams who helped him last year. With that being said, it turns out Duke has the same final four as last year (Duke over Washington and Georgetown over Butler) with Duke taking home the title. Just in case you needed any last second advice…….
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