Photograph Credit: Bing
March Madness is a favorite family event in our household. Both Paul and I love sports though Paul follows more teams than me.
My husband is a Braves fan for pro baseball, Denver Broncos fan for pro football, unfortunately a Florida State college football fan, a Celtics pro basketball fan, and a Duke Blue Devil’s college basketball fan. Whew!
For me, I root for the Florida Gators in each sport. The air gets a little tense in our home when Florida plays Florida State.
During those games, I usually watch the game downstairs while Paul views from upstairs. This arrangement works the best as we both need our space. 🙂
Following the NCAA Basketball Tournament
For those unfamiliar with March Madness, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) hosts a single-elimination basketball tournament each year comprised of 68 college teams. Though the ladies have a similar competition, our family only follows the men’s Final Four tournament.
Each year, Paul and I print copies of the tournament bracket, make our picks, and watch the games. As our family grew, we began having our children around age 2 choose their picks.
The following video shows our two oldest children making their selections in 2007 (our son making his first picks), 2008 (our son making picks during 2 different sessions), and 2009 (daughter making her first picks). 🙂
If you cannot see the video, then watch it here.
Special thanks to Paul for creating this video from our home collection. 😀
Printing Your Bracket
If you are interested in participating, you can print your bracket after the selection process on Sunday, March 17, 2013. ESPN has an entire program dedicated to the selection of the teams before releasing the bracket. The games then begin on Tuesday, March 19.
Making Bracket Selections
One of my favorite years was 2011. Our son chose Butler to go all the way – as he liked the name because Butler contained the word “butt.” (Yes, my son is all boy.) Butler ended up playing the championship game with my Florida Gators.
Though Florida should have won, Butler out-played them. So, my son won our family bracket competition. The great thing about this event is you don’t have to know anything about basketball. You can make your selections on the name, color of uniform, or random. You never know who’s going to win which makes this competition so fun.
Competing to the Championship Game
You can choose how you want to score your brackets. For our family, we follow the following scoring for each correct selection:
- Round 1: One point
- Round 2: Two points
- Round 3: Three points
- Round 4: Four points
- Round 5: Five points
- Round 6: Six points
- Round 7 (Championship): Seven points – we also guess the score.
In addition to the paper version, Paul and I also participate in an on-line bracket competition with friends and our Sunday school class. Our fantasy teams are setup through CBS Sports where the group leader chooses who is in the group.
For me, the family competition is my favorite with our children making their selections. We all huddle around to check our brackets after the games as multiple games are played each round. If we miss the scores, we just check ESPN as they keep the master bracket updated.
If you know a sports fan, you have probably heard about March Madness, the Final Four, or NCAA Tournament – known by lots of names. This month-long competition brings enjoyment to our family complete with bragging rights.
In using time wisely, the March Madness event encourages laughter, anticipation, and excitement in our household. If you choose to play, happy selecting!
Question: Does your family make selections for the NCAA Basketball Tournament?
