A few years ago, blogger Nathan Bransford invited his readers to compete in March Madness. Not wanting to be left out, I entered the ESPN Tournament Challenge. By the time I found it online, I only had a few minutes until the brackets froze. I skimmed the blurbs for each team and made a very uneducated guess. Then I locked in my predictions.
I had very low expectation until ALL of my teams won the first round. Then the second. By the third, I couldn’t believe I was still at the top!
Then a couple of my teams lost and I slipped out of contention for the $10,000 prize. Dang.
Looking back I really enjoyed the excitement of the games. I played a lot of basketball while growing up in Wisconsin, but had never watched it on TV. Because of entering the challenge, I became interested in teams I knew nothing about. I remember tuning in to a few to see if they would win. Some were nail-biters! It was a fun experience.
I’m ready to try again.
How to enter:
Create an account here. Fill out a bracket and lock in before the first game tips off on Thursday, March 21, 2019. Then check back to see how well you predicted the outcome of the games. Last year, a majority of brackets were blown in the first round when top teams lost. It’s college basketball. The players are young. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!
Choose teams by your favorite color, or pick them by their ranking. Go through your bracket and fill in the bubbles at random. That’s pretty much what I did.
You never know. You could be the big winner of this year’s ESPN Tournament Challenge and win one of the $10,000 Amazon Gift cards!
Good luck! Let me know how your bracket is doing.
Have you ever played in a fantasy league? Do you think you’ll fill out a bracket? Do you play basketball?
Related posts:
Trash-Talking and March Madness – I’m In!
Be sure to check back next Friday, March 22, when I launch the Wild Side Podcast!
Susie Lindau's Wild Ride 
I stopped doing it a few years ago…no idea why I ever started, if I don’t even watch basketball!
But since you’re unofficially challenging us…oh, wait. I can’t do anything until the selection show, which is at suppertime. D’OH!
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Okay, I picked MSU once when I should’ve favored Duke (such a powerhouse…GRR!) and I picked Virginia to beat MSU in the finals, but I’m finally finished!
http://bit.ly/2F9BFlZ
(P.S.: I have a hard time not supporting Michigan State even with the scandals…I was pretty well born to the green and white!)
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I haven’t even looked at the teams this year, nor do I have a clue about who’s in the top places, but I think my alma mater, UW-Madison may be in it this year. Go Bucky!
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There was an article in yesterday’s paper about the 1999 riot after MSU’s loss in the Final Four. Being thirteen, I was aware that there was a Major Problem, but I didn’t read the paper back then, so I don’t think I knew of the exact scope until now. O.o
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Wow! Those are some serious fans…
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Oh yes, Michigan State is known for its…er…overenthusiastic fans. (eye roll)
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Ha! I plan to do my bracket tomorrow and am really looking forward to the first round of games. After that? Who knows. There’s a ton of luck involved, for sure!
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It’s basketball time of year again, huh? Not a sport that interests me, but I am interested in seeing all the people I know who go bonkers about it. The rest of the year they seem sane, then these brackets appear and all signs of rational thinking disappears. Kind of fascinating to watch unfold.
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Hahaha! I may have gone a little crazy when my brackets did well that first year, but soon discovered there’s a lot of luck involved and that luck is very hard to duplicate! Last year, I went under in the first round. LOL! It’s still a fun diversion for me, it takes a few minutes and it’s free!
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Practice is the 2nd name of luck. Go beyond the limit in practice . luck will true.
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I’ll leave you to it.. you go girk
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Hahaha! That’s the plan!
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Rooting for Nevada — cause they’re nearby.
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Woohoo! Go Nevada! 🙂
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Go Wolfpack! 😀
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Ok, I’m in. Three brackets this year (down from 8 last year). Have Duke, Michigan State and Virginia as champs. Generally, each year I end up around the middle but last year one of my brackets was in the 93 percentile. Actually, I think the odds of winnng the lottery are better.
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Hahahaha! I’m so glad you figured it out, Al. I’ll be waiting for your blog post with all your ideas on how to spend the $10,000!
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haha its really great content. show the reall pics what is great sense of focus.
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Make a comment referring to the blog post or I’ll assume you’re a spammer….
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Good luck! I am took unlucky to participate any tournament challenges!
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It’s such a crap shoot. Occasionally, one of the top four teams gets blown out in the first round. LOL!
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Hey I hope this week’s Madness went in your favor!I love March Madness it’s always fun to watch my teams and some underdog picks 🙂 Good luck!
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