The Bracket

It's that time of year again... Where we can pretend we have been following College Basketball all year long, when really we just went to ncaasports.com this morning and printed the bracket.

(Click below to download Dana's Bracket )




I've always though March Madness was a good bit of fun ever since high school, but now I think it reminds me of all the fun we had going to games when I was in college. As if somehow, by filling out my bracket, I would magically turn 20 again.

I'd wake up standing in the dorm wearing my roommate's jeans and frayed GT logo sweatshirt... with my hair carefully arranged under a ballcap to have the appearance of causual neglect... with nothing but a $20 and some chapstick in my pocket... heading off to watch Stephon Marbury, Matt Harpring and the gang take on the ACC every other Saturday in the coliseum that was affectionately nicknamed after a part of the female upper torso.

It doesn't quite work that way, but I still enjoy filling out my bracket and getting up to speed on probably one of my most favorite spectator sports. I dig the College game immensely... it involves more thinking and finesse than the pro version. You can actually see defensive strategy and passing as opposed to the steady dunk and dirty foul fest that follows the pro game.

Here are Dana's Rules for filling out your bracket (note that none of these have anything to do with who is the better basketball team):

1) If Georgia Tech make it to the big dance- you always make sure they go all the way. No matter what.

2) Temple, Villanova, St. Joe's, Penn and any other greater Philadelphia area colleges should be picked to win at least their first two rounds, unless they come up against Georgia Tech as above.

3) ACC schools that were "nice" to me when I was in school are next (Meaning their swim clubs agreeed to host a meet, they were polite at away games or they have nice school colors). This includes Duke, Wake Forest and UNC. ACC schools that weren't nice to me (or have bad school colors) lose right away. Clemson, NC State, etc.

4) If Georgia (UGA) made the dance, they are OUT first round.

5) Any school that rejected my application for enrollment is eliminated in the first round. (Rice, Stanford)

6) Pick some school that either sounds really cool, you've never heard of or is located someplace really neat and take them pretty far until they run into something as above. (Weber St, Winthrop)

7) Pick Engineering Schools, 'cause you know that the nerds attending those schools need a break from studying and the only way they will take one is when their school keeps moving forward. I would say- to support the engineer/athlete, but I know the GT squad only had an engineering major once ever 5 years or something. But still, we pasty faced tech dorks can pretend it has something to do with us...(Purdue, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech)

That should just about do it. Your bracket should be about 75% filled in after that, so now you just randomly fill in teams in the spaces.

DANA's FINAL FOUR

Georgia Tech
Villanova
Vanderbilt
Penn