Calling all Cinderellas: Breaking down the bracket of inaugural Hoosier Hysteria competition
Starting tomorrow, traditions will be on the line, madness and hysteria will ensue, and campus “Cinderellas” will be gearing up for the chance to dance.
The bracket is set.
It’s NCAA tournament time, of course, but we’re talking instead about what’s being dubbed the “ultimate IU bracket.”
Herman B Wells, Hoagy and Homecoming. Mark Cuban, Kinsey and candy-striped pants. They represent just a few of the Btown legends and traditions vying to win the inaugural “Hoosier Hysteria: The Bloomington Bracket” competition.
The field of 32 has been set and broken down into four regions — Landmarks, Traditions, Legends and Events — and beginning tomorrow morning, March 17, through April 6, Hoosier fanatics will be able to determine the person, place or thing they think most reflects our storied IU Bloomington campus.
Starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, Bloomington’s best bracketologists will be able to make their first-round selections. (The opening round will end at 2 p.m. on March 24, when second-round voting will commence.) Participants can vote once per day on each of their online or mobile devices, and as each round of the competition is completed they can view the results online, through IU’s main social media accounts or on a banner located at Starbucks in the Indiana Memorial Union. Ultimately, they’ll determine the last legend or tradition standing and the winner of a championship trophy created by the handy folks at the UITS 3-D Printing Lab at Wells Library.
Personally speaking, I’m ready to bust out my bracket. My final four: Assembly Hall, Little 500, Herman B Wells and my Cinderella pick, Squirrel watching. Regarding the choice of our ever-popular campus critters, my hope is that history will be on my side. (Though it’s often been disputed, some have suggested that in the original version of the fairy tale, Cinderella did not wear glass slippers, but instead wore slippers made out of fur. Squirrel fur.)
Call us nuts, but we think IU’s famed squirrels could be this year’s Cinderella.
Not surprisingly, I’ve already started second guessing my planned selections. I had Little 500 as a lock to advance out of the Events region of the bracket, but can it really dance past IU Dance Marathon? And while it’s hard to deny Herman B a place in the final four, how many will have Hoagy Carmichael on their minds when tomorrow morning rolls around?
The clock is about to strike. (Come to think of it, maybe the Student Building Clock Tower is this year’s Cinderella?) Bring on the hysteria, and go Hoosiers!
Tags: bracket, bracketology, Btown, Cinderella, Hoosier Hysteria, Indiana University Bloomington, IU Bloomington, IU legends, IU traditions
