Alternative brackets a welcome diversion
After a year when March Madness was usurped by insanity of a far more grim variety, the return of the NCAA basketball tournament has been accompanied by much joy, at least according to my social media feeds.
For most basketball fans, that joy will transmogrify into disappointment, sadness or even fleeting anger once their favorite team is eliminated. The best odds of that happening around here are after the tourney’s second round.
My team is the Salukis of Southern Illinois, an occasional entrant into the fray over the years, though they didn’t come anywhere near contention this time.
I was working, not able to pay much attention Friday, as squads called Colgate and Drexel got squashed by teams claiming to represent entire states, including Illinois.
Another of those states usually is Kentucky, where my wife was born and raised, and where college basketball is the only professional sport. But like the Salukis, those particular Wildcats are missing from this year’s tournament.
Also missing are their in-state rivals, the Louisville Cardinals. Cardinals have another local option this March, though it’s in another bracket entirely. Not the NIT, and not even basketball, it’s the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Tournament of Birds.
The top-seeded northern cardinal, which incidentally enjoys seeds very much, recently defeated the No. 4 scarlet tanager in a 73-20 first round blowout in the tourney’s Red Regional. In round two, it will face the redheaded woodpecker, which on Friday defeated the rose-breasted grosbeak 68-44.
In other first round action, the top-seeded indigo bunting easily knocked off the eastern bluebird 69-32 in the Blue Regional, the top ranked snowy owl destroyed No. 4 ring-billed gull in the White Regional. And in a huge upset, the bottom-seeded American gold
finch, a common backyard visitor, knocked off the western tanager in the Yellow Regional.
Cindy Cain, the Forest Preserve District’s spokeswoman who helped put the tournament together, called the upset in the Yellow Regional a victory for the “home team.”
The western tanager made waves in December when it was spotted in Channahon after likely being “blown off course,” Cain said, as it’s not a bird typically found in the area. Once word got out, birders flocked to the area hoping to catch a glimpse of the yellow fellow.
“We thought because of its rareness it would do better, but it did not,” she said. Points are actually votes from people posts on the district’s Facebook page, and the visitor’s initial popularity didn’t translate to social media love.
It’s the third year the bird bracket has been offered. The ruby-throated hummingbird won last year, and the American bald eagle won in the tournament’s first year.
“It won so convincingly we have not allowed it back,” Cain said, “because we think it would always win. And maybe rightly so.”
Likewise, the hummingbird wasn’t invited back to defend its title.
“Those are very popular birds, and once they win we try to mix it up and give some other bird a chance,” she said, noting she has a favorite in this year’s competition.
“Personally, I’m rooting for the snowy owl,” Can said. “It’s an amazing bird and its rarely spotted in this area. People love owls, so that’s my prediction, but I have no inside information on that.
“Everyone has their favorite bird, but I think the snowy owl is really magnificent.”
There’s no betting involved in this tournament and, likewise, interested spectators aren’t subjected to sports betting commercials, which is a huge benefit. And it’s not just restricted to birders, Cain said.
“It’s for nature lovers, and full-fledged birders and people who just like the fun of a contest,” she said. “Anybody can vote. That’s the nice thing about it.”
Because fans of one bird typically are fans of lots of different birds, there’s usually not crushing disappointment associated with any given tournament loss.
“Nobody’s calling me wanting a recount or anything,” Cain said. “I’m getting no complaints. It’s a nice diversion.”
A similar diversion that crossed the Landmarks desk here at the Daily Southtown last week was another tournament bracket, this time involving products vying to be The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.
Sponsored by the Illinois Manufacturers Association, the Makers Madness final four features a Self-Regulating Traffic Signal Heater made by Termico Technologies in Elk Grove Village versus Blistex Lip Ointment made in Oak Brook and Custom Tooling made by Deco Manufacturing Co. in Decatur versus the Accuchiller KSE Series Packaged Outdoor Chiller made by Thermal Care Inc. in Niles.
Also decided by votes, the manufacturers tourney has had some heavyduty upsets along the way, including when the Caterpillar D11 Dozer made in East Peoria was defeated by the 4000-RL-CO2DX Flake Ice Machine made by Howe Corporation in Chicago in the Round of 16.
Other surprising Illinois products that fell to defeat include the Giant Magellan Telescope made by Ingersoll Machine Tools Inc. in Rockford and Orion Spacecraft Command Module Control Switches made by OTTO Engineering in Carpentersville.
The Makers Madness winner will be announced March 24, while the Will County Forest Preserves bird brackets will declare a winner March 29.
In the meantime, an even better diversion might be a consolation bracket in which competitors from all the different tourneys competed. We could have the team from Colgate competing against Colgate toothpaste, or Oral Roberts University up against Oral-B. The Syracuse Orange might face the great blue heron.
It would be the surreal tournament we deserve after the last 12 months of true surreality.
But until that happens, go Loyola, which as of this writing has not yet played and may or may not be still alive in the main March Madness.
If they’re not, go cardinal.