BRACKETOLOGY: SHAMINEAU'S GUIDE TO PICKING THE CHAMPION

So it starts today... One of the worse days in terms of 'Merican work force production all year.  Why? Cause starting at 11am, everyone is watching the NCAA tournament, and by the way, the Gophers are in it this year!  Here at camp, we embrace it and fill out our brackets.  We don't spend much time watching the games during the day but it gives us a reason to cheer for someone.

But this is what you came for...  how to pick the winner.  There are many methods that we have seen in the office but first of all let's help you clear something up.  All the teams have a little number by them.  It's their seed in the tournament that they earned all season.  It's NOT - the team with the most points is the best!  It's actually the opposite.  The number 1 is the best team, kinda like they earned first place... now you know.  

So here are some ways to pick your winners (real version).  You could go straight with the number 1 seeds, but that never all the way works out, however if the seeds are your guide, you may win your office pool.  For whatever reason, there are normally 5/12 upsets.  Meaning the 12th ranked team beats the 5th ranked team.  Then you could just go with your gut.  What is that team that is going to surprise everyone?  But that might not be a fun way to pick.

Here are some more fun ways to pick your winners.  Most of these have actually happened in the past many years...  Alphabetical, this is a useful English language drill but rarely effective in choosing the winner.  Color of player uniforms, can be effective depending on your favorite color.  Hoping gold shines through this year.  The team of that place you vacationed to once.  Might be a good option because good b ball players want to live where you vacation, makes sense.  Coin flip method, why not?  Shortest name of the school, that's just bracket filling laziness.  Geographical East to West, might have to do a little research on where the school is, some aren't obvious.  Which name is more fun to say or could be used in a rap song.  Try putting Villanova or Gonzaga in a sick rhyme.  Not saying it's impossible but tough.  And then there is probably my favorite, which mascot would win in a good old fashioned wrastling match.  Wrastling is a bit different then wrestling, less rules but with a good finishing move...

So now you know how to properly fill out your brackets, or at least have fun doing it.  This year we made a different bracket challenge for you.  Not only to guess the winner, but to influence the winner!  It's a Christian Song Bracket Challenge.  It also starts today (clever, right?).  You vote on the winner on facebook and / or Instagram.  You vote by liking, sharing and commenting.  You can vote up to 10 times per matchup per platform, so a lot of comments I guess.  There is everything from Amy Grant's El Shaddai to Rawkfist by TFK.  Not many people are familiar with both of those songs.  It will be interesting to see what song wins.  Probably more of a generational battle, who is more committed to social media.  Good luck DC Talk!