March Madness tips off Thursday, and I, like millions around the country, have filled out my bracket. Bracket selecting is part art, part science and can reveal a great deal about a person. I’ve drawn on years of observing the annual bracket
hysteria and filling out brackets myself, and I’ve broken down the bracket selectors into five categories.
The Perfectionist
Hours of sweat will be poured over the bracket, each match-up tweaked until finally, at last, perfection. Then, the tourney starts, madness ensues and all the hard work collapses like a poorly built house of cards. The perfectionist’s preparation can often pay off in other areas of life but not here. The flaw in the perfectionist’s plan is that once the games begin, he has no control. His bracket’s destiny is in the hands of a bunch of 18- to 22-year-olds, who aren’t concerned with how clever the perfectionist thought his upset picks were.
The Clueless One
Often picking on regional bias or color of uniform, the clueless one is not a basketball fan but merely caught up in the excitement of the tourney. The Clueless One had a bracket shoved in his face and was told office pride is at stake. He’s just doing his best to make sense out of it. The clueless one’s bracket will be laughable to the perfectionist, but due to the topsy-turvy nature of the tournament, he just may end up winning the whole thing.
The Casual Fan
A regular watcher of ESPN, the casual fan may watch his team play and a catch a couple of conference games but doesn’t follow the sport the way the perfectionist does. He’s heavily biased. This will allow him to root for his team, but it will hurt him in the tournament.
The Multiple Bracteter
This is the worst kind of bracket selector. The Multiple Bracketer won’t stand behind one bold set of predictions. Instead, he fills out a fan of brackets – one for every scenario that pops into his head. I fell prey to this seductive strategy one year but quickly realized its drawbacks. Sure, it’s fun to have a good bracket for every scenario, but there is no satisfaction when one succeeds. A subgenre of The Multiple Bracketer is All-Favorites Bracketer, who picks all number one seeds to go to the final four. Don’t fall for this trap. Take a risk. With great risk comes great reward.
The Laid Back Approach
Lastly, there is a way to play the bracket, not lose one’s mind and have a decent shot at success. The key is to follow two simple tips.
1. Don’t go crazy with upsets. Pick a handful of teams to risk it on. Maybe put a four seed in the final four.
2. Don’t worry about winning. You probably won’t. If you do, it has nothing to do with what teams you picked. It’s about what the teams and players did themselves. Remember, it’s really about the basketball. So sit back, enjoy some basketball and take in the madness.