No prizes, but plenty of bracket fun

This year, for the first time ever, I participated in an NCAA Tournament Bracket Mania Pool.

It was a family affair

My son named the group, Burleson Ballers. There were eight participants.

Before the first game in the 68-team field started, we had to make our picks for the entire tournament

It didn’t take me long. I picked a few upsets here and there, but mostly went with the favorites.

And as it turned out, there were many favorites falling. And that’s one of the great things about March Madness.

For example, Abilene Christian beat Texas in Round 1. I picked Texas

And how about Oral Roberts? A 15th seed beat a two seed, Ohio State, in Round 1. And then Oral Roberts also stunned Florida in Round 2.

I was actually close to the top, as for as the prognosticating goes, from the start.

Surprisingly, my wife Pam surged to an early lead and kept it until like the Sweet 16. She admitted she basically picked the winners based on their mascots.

Shortly into the friendly competition, Andy posted, “I don’t even want to hear about being behind.”

After Alabama shot miserably, like 11 of 25, from the freethrow line in a Sweet 16 loss to UCLA, Pam was starting to fall a bit.

“Picking teams by their mascots only worked for a while,” she wrote. “Next year it might be school colors and free throw percentage.”

Tommy Clifton, my daughter Erin’s boyfriend, started gaining ground.

“Is there a prize for winning?” he asked

Andy responded, “There would have been a prize if I won but no prize anymore.”

It all came down to the championship game – Gonzaga versus Baylor

I was in second place. But I was the only one in the entire pool to select Baylor to win it all – so I rose to the top.

Then I felt I just had to post something in the group messaging – “Victory is sweet. The most basketball knowledge wins out in competition like this. I hope all of you will try again next year to keep up with the ‘old man.’”

I only got two responses from the other participants in the family pool

“My mascot theory worked for a couple of weeks,” Pam wrote. “I’m happy with that.”

Rubye Del Harden, our adopted family member from Tupelo, wrote, “Well, Baylor totally dominated. So, the superior basketball knowledge old guy won the day. Congrats!”

To be honest, I didn’t really keep up with my winners throughout the entire bracket. I couldn’t even recall who I picked to win most of the games.

And I didn’t get to watch all the games because of work and other obligations. I just tried to be home in front of the TV for a select few.

I even missed the national championship game but I did keep up with the score. And the outcome was pretty much never in doubt.

I’m not really sure why I picked Baylor – just a hunch.

Unfortunately, this hunch didn’t really “pay off” – no prize money, just some bragging rights.

I love March Madness.