march. madness.

Just a little insight into how I picked my NCAA bracket. Completely ridiculous.


SWEET SIXTEEN PICKS

EAST

UNC (1) over Indiana (8): The heels sport the same colors as my HS Alma mater... the one and only CSHS. So pretty and blue.

George Mason (12) over Washington State (4): George Mason was a founding father. I am greatly indebted to him for my freedom. I figure I can at least give him a win.

Louisville (3) over Oklahoma (6): This was a toughy. I was born in Oklahoma, but Louisville is way cooler than Norman. I’ve always wanted to wear a big hat and a sundress and go to the derby.

Tennessee (2) over Butler (7): Nashville is in Tennessee, and Nashville is one of my favorite cities. Home of Amy Grant, Alan Jackson, and countless other musical phenoms. I would live in Tennessee.

MIDWEST

Kansas (1) over Kentucky State (9): Wicked is my very favorite musical. It is the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy was from Kansas.

Vandy (4) over Clemson (5): "Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously mistakin."

Kansas State (11) over Wisconsin (3): Manhattan. Same name as one of my favorite cities.

Georgetown (2) over Gonzaga (7): I lived in DC for a while, and Georgetown has the best shopping in town hands down.

SOUTH

Memphis (1) over Mississippi State (8): Maybe it was Memphis… maybe it was southern summer nights… love that song.

Michigan State (5) over Pittsburgh (4): Right now I'm reading A Moveable Feast by Hemingway. He talks about Michigan, and growing up, he spent his summers there. Michigan it is!

Stanford (3) over Kentucky (11): My friend’s husband goes to Stanford.

Texas (2) over St. Mary’s (10): Just givin the homeland a lil lovin. Austin is my fave. Thank you, Austin, for your abundance of live music, excellent queso and migas, and really great running trails.

WEST

UCLA (1) over A&M (9): Oh how I would love to choose the faggies here. But that would just be straight up ignorant, wouldn’t it?

Drake (5) over San Diego (13): I feel like maybe if I had gone to Drake I would have been asked, “where do you summa?” Maybe I would say, “Walloon Lake, Michigan,” like Ernie.

Xavier (3) over Purdue (6): Xavier wins for originality. If I could use proper nouns in Scrabble, Xavier would come in handy. Damn Xs.

Duke (2) over West Virginia (7): A no-brainer, even for me. You know the blue devils are going to win a few.


ELITE EIGHT PICKS

EAST - Tennessee over UNC: I know this is completely overthrowing my color theory (orange over cougar blue?!), and both are pretty states. Just had to go with my gut on this one.

MIDWEST - Georgetown over Vanderbilt: If you haven’t been to Georgetown, you should really go. It has great little brick streets, H&M, tons of bars, and good restaurants.

SOUTH – Texas over Michigan State: Austin is my favorite city in Texas. Texas is my favorite state. Question: how the hell does Michigan State get put into the “South” bracket? I obviously don’t understand how these things work. That’s another reason Texas wins… it actually is in the South.

WEST – UCLA over Duke: I just want to cheer for UCLA’s players, whose names include: DeAndre (a favorite around 2620), Mustafa (Mustafa Mustafa Mustafa), Luc Richard Mdah a Moute (should we start a bet on where that guy’s from?), and Nikola (Ni-co-laaaaa, Ricola-style). So fun!


FINAL FOUR PICKS

Georgetown over Tennessee: One time, I went running in Georgetown, and there were like, millions of really steep staircases all over campus. And hills. I just bet their players are in really good shape if they walk around that campus all the time.

UCLA over Texas: I am still an aggie at heart, and I secretly don’t want our rival school to win it big. Plus, I want to cheer for De Andre and Luc Richard a bit longer.


CHAMPIONSHIP

Georgetown over UCLA: Not much of an underdog, but an underdog just the same. Since my chances of winning anything in this tournament are slim to none, might as well, right?