TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
to people talk about their brackets. Some start setting them up even before the teams are announced, basing their choices on who is predicted to be among the 68 participating teams. To my knowledge, my husband has only completed a bracket once and declared it a disaster by mid-tournament after most of his picks had proven to be incorrect. In a brilliant move, however, he had chosen Duke to win the whole thing, which they did. He walked into Starbucks the next day to be greeted by his friend, the bracket master, with an envelope full of cash. It was a fun way to start his day. I asked a young woman who professes to do a lousy job with
probably joking, but sometimes it’s hard to tell. In any case, I kind of hope that this will be the year he joins in the fun. After all, everyone else is doing it. The tournament tips off on March 17. Even though they call it March Madness, the finals don’t take place until April. This year’s Final Four is scheduled for April 4-6 in Indianapolis. On March 15, they will announce the participating teams, and I will be pulling, as usual, for my SMU Mustangs to be in the mix. We have burned up I-30 this season traveling to Dallas to be there for most of the home games. The Ponies might or might
her bracket what she uses for criteria. She told me she relies on rankings, which seemed pretty smart to me. She assured me, however, that it doesn’t work and she never wins. My daughter- in-law chooses winning teams based on whether or not she knows someone who went to that school and whether or not she likes that person. A former cheerleader makes her picks based on the aesthetics of the school’s cheerleaders’ uniforms. My cynical son assures me, however, that the cheerleader uniforms are just about as effective at predicting winners as records, rankings, and standout players. My physical therapist, on the other hand, studies the teams carefully and makes an educated choice in each of the 67 pairings. I’m told he usually does pretty well. A few years back, Warren
not make it into the Big Dance, but they’ve been lots of fun to watch this year. We witnessed a game winning buzzer beater from the far side of the mid-court line that we will never forget. Or we might; neither one of us can seem to remember anything anymore. I appreciate the SMU athletic department for their assistance with this column; they lent me the jersey I’m wearing in the accompanying photo. It came from their jersey archive (who knew there was a jersey archive?) and was worn by number 12, Savannah Wilkerson. She graduated in 2023 and now plays professionally in Israel. I had fun researching her; she’s a beautiful young woman with a warm smile that makes you want to sit down and have coffee with her. She had a notable career at SMU that included more than one academic award. She’s originally from London, which is where I was born. Wearing her jersey for an hour felt like getting to know her. She represents the difference between being a woman who grew up in the sixties and being one who grew up in the twenty- first century. She also represents
Buffett offered a billion dollars to anyone who completed a perfect bracket. The odds of that happening, someone calculated, are one in 92 quintillion. No one did it that year, and it has, in fact, never happened. Ironically, 92 quintillion is also the number of squeaks, whistles, and buzzers one hears if one watches every game in the tournament. While the tournament dates back to 1939, bracketology has only been a thing since 1985. That feels pretty recent to me, but it was actually 41 years ago. In that 41 years, bracketology has become pervasive. When Barack Obama was president, he started the tradition of posting his bracket on the White House website. Joe Biden did the same during his term. I guess President Trump isn’t a basketball fan, as he has never participated. He did suggest to a reporter last March, after the tournament was well underway, that he might do a bracket and backdate it. He was
the difference between being an average-height, semi-klutz and being a six-foot tall athlete. I have the greatest respect for her, as well as all female athletes. I should note that the women have been participating in their own NCAA Tournament every year since 1972. It’s sometimes referred to as Women’s March Madness. I think they should call it March Sanity, but that probably isn’t going to happen. I hope later this month finds you comfortably established in front of your television, enjoying a festive beverage and cheering on your favorite teams. May you successfully endure the squeaks, whistles, and buzzers, and may your bracket be one in 92 quintillion.
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