Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Bracket Racket

Here’s something weird (weirder than normal): I just learned how to spell “Pittsburgh.” Somehow, I have spent 30 years NOT spelling Pittsburgh, because honestly (and by honestly, I mean embarrassingly) I never knew there was an “h” on the end. To all of you who live in Pittsburgh, I’m so sorry.

I was spelling “Pittsburgh” because I was filling out my bracket for the NCAA tournament. Granted, I have no idea what I’m doing because I’ve seen a grand total of 7 minutes of college basketball this year, but nevertheless, I’ve got the March Madness.

You see, Brett and I will be spending this weekend with some folks who care about such things, and who are having us over expressly for the purpose of drinking beer and watching basketball and I refuse to take the roll of resident Clueless Girl. I plan to be invested.

This should be easy as long as my alma mater wins. Go Warriors (yes, I know they’re the Golden Eagles now, but that’s stupid). Beyond Marquette, I don’t have the foggiest notion of who’s who and why I should advance one team over another. I mean, there are some gimmes, like the fact that I will NOT advance Oral Roberts University on principle and I can’t advance Austin Peay because, quite frankly, I don’t even know how to say that second word. As for the other teams, HELP! Are any of you filling out bracket nonsense? Who do you like? Instruct me!

P.S. There’s a reason I procrastinate; I work well under pressure.

18 comments:

Jess said...

I did a bracket too and basically did it by checking out ESPN's NCAA tournament page and looking at which teams the experts thought would get to the final four and picking the four that were picked the most often. I did that last year and won the office pool. But the other thing I did last year was find a list of predicted upsets by ESPN experts and predict the ones that more than one expert thought would happen, but I was unable to find such a list this year so I had to do without.

Also, ME TOO on the procrastination/pressure thing.

Jess said...

Oh wait, I found something similar to what I used last year. Check this out.

Tess said...

Good tip on Pittsburg(H!). That's the kind of thing I will now remember till my dying day due to this post.

Fun fact! My boss, his wife, and all of their children attended Oral Roberts. GAH!

Alice said...

oral roberts *snicker*

Anonymous said...

My secret is that I almost always pick the 12 seed to beat the 5. Other than that, I usually pick based on how good the teams have been historically. I like the site that Jess pointed out!

shelleycoughlin said...

Umm, I completely missed that March Madness was even going on until I started reading blogs the last two days. Why does my work have no Madness bracket pool?!

Jenny, the Bloggess said...

I had no idea there was an h on the end.

For real.

Penny said...

Pittsburgh always reminds me of sourdough for some reason. Or, at least, I think of something sour. And I believe this is the second time in my entire life I have spelled that word.

Rachel H. said...

Have fun with March Madness! I don't know anything about Basketball nor have I been watching any of it this season. I'm not filling out brackets, so I'm of no help!

And I too work well under pressure! It definitely helps, so I tend to procrastinate too!

Anonymous said...

I've never bothered to spell Pittsburgh, because I've always known them as "Pitt." It's where my dad went to college, so he's always been a fan. In fact, when I was home last weekend, I couldn't even get a word in edgewise because they were playing Marquette, another school name that I would never know how to spell if I hadn't spent 30 minutes watching the game with him.

Pickles and Dimes said...

I'm with -r-, I almost always pick the #12 seed over the #5. And the #9 over #8. I have Georgetown going all the way, even though they're not #1. I'm of no help though, because I don't watch college basketball until Tourney time.

Ask me about football or baseball picks, though - I'm ALL over those! :)

Anonymous said...

I did a bracket too, and used similar logic to yours. I like Memphis because of Elvis. :) Your alma mater changed its mascot? How lame/annoying for you!

Sarah said...

Things like basketball brackets turn me into a stammering, panic stricken social outcast, because I literally have no clue about what to choose and why. It seriously makes me break out in a cold sweat. I am a Sports Reject, much to the chagrin of my husband.

Anonymous said...

Don't feel bad, until I became a dispatcher I thought sheriff was spelled "sherrif".

Try putting that on official paperwork and watch your boss laugh her grammatically incorrect ASS off. Humiliating.

Melain said...

I'm afraid I can be of no help, but your ambition is inspiring. I, unlike you, tend to procrastinate well under pressure. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh - a full week with no Flib posts. Kill me now.

email said...

Um, yeah. Excuse me while I brush off the dust from the rock I've been hiding under, but what's a "bracket" as pertains to basketball?

Thomas said...

Funny, I just learned how to spell "Flibberty."