Go Siena Saint Bernards!
A tradition my dad and I have every year is filling out the Division I NCAA men's basketball tournament brackets. I invariably get almost everything wrong past the first round. This is because for some of the smaller schools it represents the first time I have ever heard of their institutions and I invariably pick too many of these. (Gonzaga? Austin Peay? You're going to the final game if I have anything to say about it!)
Similarly, the first time I voted in a general election, in 2004, I felt pretty informed politically until I got to the unknown-to-me school board candidates and found myself making my picks based on who had the coolest last name.
So this year to stave off embarrassment I decided to let a dime I borrowed from my coworker Zack decide for me. Here's what the coin toss gods decided about my bracket:
- Half of the number one seeds (Kansas and Memphis) will be defeated by the 16 seeds (Portland St. and UT-Arlington)
- One 15 seed will make it to the Elite Eight (Austin Peay) and another (Belmont) will make it to the final four along with the Indiana Hoosiers, my alma mater.
- The 13 seed Siena Saints (apparently they were the Indians until they changed their mascot it in the '80s to its present incarnation of a giant St. Bernard) will be crowned the 2008 national champions after defeating the Michigan St. Spartansin the final game.
So mark my words, come April 7, the town of Loudonville, New York's 2,900 undergrads will be celebrating the glorious victory of their beloved St. Bernards come April 7. Or don't. It doesn't matter this year because it won't be my fault. Unless they really do win. And then I'm taking complete credit.