It is that time of year again… March Madness!
The time of year that husbands tell their wives they are working late, when they really left work early to go to the bars with friends to watch college basketball, and lots of guys call in “sick” Friday to watch the games.
But just like I’ve said about fantasy football – why not get involved yourself?
You can send out an NCAA Tournament bracket to your friends, and family and get everyone involved in some good-spirited fun. [Download a printable one here.] Not sure who to pick or why? Me neither, and ironically it’s usually the wives, girlfriends and non-college basketball fans that get these brackets right compared to the diehard college basketball fan!
Even kids can get into this year’s March Madness, and get into the fun on rooting on mom or dads college team, or a local college team that made the tournament. This year we will be rooting for my husbands’ college team WVU.
Another fun way to get everyone into March Madness is a party!! Plan a March Madness Party for all that participate in your tournament bracket. March Madness is three weekends of college basketball fun, so you have plenty of time to plan a fun get together with your family and friends. Yummy food, drinks and quality hang time – what could be a better excuse to get everyone together?
The Tournament Bracket is the most important thing to get involved in to experience the real fun of March Madness, so here are some simple rules to help you get started for your 2012 NCAA Tournament Bracket:
1. Deadline
All brackets must be completed by Thursday March 15th by 12pm the start of the first round games. There are some games that are played Tuesday and Wednesday they are called the “play in games”, and if you think those teams will win include them in your bracket.
2. Top Seeds
This year Syracuse, Kentucky, Michigan State, and North Carolina made the top seeds. There are 16 seeds for each region. A #16 seed has never beat a #1 seed.
3. Cinderella Team
This is what makes March Madness so much fun. Every year there will be a low seed team that will get into the Sweet Sixteen. Last year VA Commonwealth, Richmond Spiders, Marquette, and FSU were the Cinderella teams. Look for who you think will be this year’s upset, but remember most Cinderella teams do not make it to the championship game, expect them to lose later in the rounds.
4. Pick with Your Gut
Have fun with this! If you are not sure which teams will make it in each round go ahead and pick with the teams you like based on college or location its ok, and also a fun way for kids to learn where schools are located!
5. Final Four
This year the Final Four will be hosted in New Orleans March 31st weekend. Making your bracket picks come down to having the most teams in the final four, and even better if you can pick the championship team! Even if you pick one of the final four teams chances are you will make it far in your bracket.
Whatever strategy you have for your 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket, just remember March Madness is all about having some fun! College basketball is a great sport for the whole family to watch, and this year get everyone involved!
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