I Just Finished Filling Out My Bracket for the B101.7 Million Dollar Bracket Challenge

You know what I am thinking this morning? 5 Hour Energy plus coffee plus an elementary (at best) understanding of college hoops equals SUCCESS. I am ready to win; are you?

I had planned on filling out my bracket last night for our Million Dollar Bracket Challenge, but my baby girl was not in a cooperative mood. Long story short: yesterday was her first trip to the park and her excitement was so great that she skipped out on napping. By 5pm last night, I had an exhausted but still shrieking banshee on my hands. Happy St. Patrick's Day to me. She finally went to sleep at 6:30pm (which is waaaay early for her), so she was up and ready to start her day at 5:30 this morning. I was not.

So...I downed enough caffeine to cause a heart arrhythmia and got to my office extra early today to get my bracket on. Despite living in Kentucky for ten years (basketball:Kentucky::football:Alabama), I am shamefully clueless when it comes to following "March Madness." Wait. I can't say that; it's trademarked... let's go with "Third Month Mayhem" instead.

Anyway, I don't know a thing about college basketball. Or any basketball for that matter. My love of sports is pretty much all spent on my rabid college football obsession, so I am oblivious when it comes to anything else. I would not, however, let this rudimentary knowledge keep me from completing what is sure to be my #1, super-awesome, million-dollar winning bracket.

My method of success, you ask? Easy. Step One: Pick the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers to win it all. Disclaimer: I went to WKU, so I am biased. WKU has the coolest mascot in the history of higher education. I went to Western for four years and even I don't exactly know what Big Red is. He (I am anthropomorphizing here) is supposed to represent the spirit of all Hilltoppers or some nonsensical whatnot. WKU fans and students, by the way, are referred to as "Hilltoppers" because the campus is situated on a hill. In fact, the top of that hill is the highest point of elevation in South Central Kentucky (Walking up the Hill is brutal, especially when you are living in sophomore housing and walking (hiking) a mile to get to your Lit class in Cherry Hall, which sits at the very top of the godforsaken Hill). Anyway, I love Western Kentucky and Big Red, so of course I had to pick my Hilltoppers to win it all.

Step Two: The Other Teams... this is where it gets dicey. I picked Louisville to win because I like the Cards. That statement will enrage half of my Kentucky friends who are die-hard UK fans, but oh well. For everyone else, I just picked the top seed or hovered my mouse over the selection for a minute or two and just chose what felt luckiest. How's that for accuracy?

I'm certain anyone can beat me. Fill out your bracket while you still can to get in to win. Unless you don't want to win a million dollars, in which case I question your motives and sanity... Tell your friends to enter, too, and then commence to trash talking, because that's the best part of any bracket challenge.

Oh, and T-O-P-S! TOPS! TOPS! TOPS!