There will be no one shining moment when I look back at this
office pool.
There will be no one shining moment when I look back at this office pool.
The majority of games have been played and I have been eliminated.
If Gilroytv.com had captured the highlights of my fantastic failure at picking winners in the men’s NCAA tournament, it would feature a John Tesh ballad in the background, smiles and a few high-fives from the ladies of The Dispatch, and a couple tears shed by a somber sports editor.
It wasn’t a case of Murphy’s Law; not everything that could go wrong went wrong. But this experiment of putting my bracket up against those of eight women who have never bothered to follow a single game certainly proved a point: My knowledge of college basketball was unnecessary and quite possibly a hindrance.
I now sit in fifth place with no possibility of advancing higher in the standings. In fact, I could even drop to sixth when it’s all said and done.
Walking around the office Monday, I informed each member of ‘The Elite Eight’ where they were in the standings, and that my bid to reign supreme was no longer feasible.
Upon hearing that she was in fourth place and still had a chance to win, a broad smile crept across the face of receptionist Luz Cervantes.
“I am as surprised as everyone here,” she said. “I’m so proud of myself.”
She considered what this meant for another second and then said, “Oh god, that sucks for you. I’m kicking your butt and it feels good.”
I bet.
When I told Hillary Rush of the advertising department that she was in third but would not be able to win, she took the news well.
“I guess it’s kind of cool,” she said, “that I know nothing about basketball and to do this well. Especially considering you’ve spent your whole life watching sports.”
Ouch.
Copy Desk chief Andi Joseph, a self-proclaimed hater of all things basketball who is in second place, put the icing on the cake.
“It’s a sweet feeling,” she said. “You’re taking it like a man.”
My only answer was to tell her the conversation was over.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I have more.”
I kept walking. (Sadly, we sit 10 feet apart so I crawled under my desk while the chatter continued.)
It’s clear to me now that I was tempting fate all along. With no experience having ever won a March Madness office pool, I should have expected this would happen. But looking at the way things turned out – four No. 1 seeds making it to the Final Four for the first time in the history of the tournament – it seems that I may have simply picked the wrong year for such an experiment.
Marketing Director Nora Jones is in first place with 76 points, followed by Ms. Joseph with 71. It’s not a coincidence that the two are in the lead considering they both nailed the Final Four. Ms. Cervantes had three right, her only misfire coming on Stanford, and she could win the pool if UCLA takes the title.
The best teams lived up to expectations and, by all accounts, so did I.
At least I’ll have some solace in watching some phenomenal matchups in this weekend’s games. Of course, in the back of my mind, I’ll know that my chance to dance will have to wait at least another year.
Current Standings:
1. Nora Jones- 76 points
2. Andi Joseph – 71 points
3. Hillary Rush – 69 points
4. Luz Cervantes – 64 points
5. Josh Koehn – 52 points
6. Miriam Quehl – 50 points
7. Kelly Sinon – 48 points
8. Christine McGinty – 37 points
9. Sara Suddes – 33 points
