Bracketology: Skill or luck?

I love March for many reasons. I love the weather in AZ this time of year--the feeling of spring, the sunshine and blue sky. But of course I love March for the madness. I've loved the game of college basketball since the March of 1990, and 20 years later, I still find it powerful and mesmerizing.

I joined a number of March Madness pools over the years because of my love and sometimes obsession. I've even bet a few bucks here and there and come out the big winner. (Not that I have any ideas of becoming the gambling type.I like to keep my money--thank you very much.) Years ago when I was winning pools and such, I followed the national scene more closely than I do now, and I felt like there was greater predictability. It was seldom that teams like VCU would make the Final Four because there were powerhouses and greater disparities among teams. I don't feel that way anymore.

So as I approached my blank bracket couple of weeks ago, I felt fear and pressure. It seemed like there could be so many possibilities.Our family has been doing a friendly pool with our friends in North Dakota, and last year, I won that pool. Could I defend?

So I put my skills to the test and used every resource I could muster to fill out the bracket. The above picture is the end result. Completed and maxxed out in terms of points. I can earn no more. But with so much craziness in this year's tournament, I feel it's respectable.

Respectable until I consider a second bracket I filled out in Asher's name that was created by pure flips of the coin. Imagine Enoch and Asher out on our back patio with Enoch repeatedly encouraging Asher to throw the coin, yelling the heads or tails to me through the open window, me scribbling in the result on the bracket, and repeating the process all over again 32 times until the bracket was full. It took awhile because Asher didn't always necessarily want to flip the coin.

In the end, Asher's bracket is now sitting at 500 points to my 630, but he still has the possibility of earning another 160 points if Kentucky wins their next game. He has Kentucky/Wisconsin in the final game with Wisconsin winning it all. Obviously Wisconsin does nothing for him, but Kentucky most certainly could. If they do, the flip of the coin bracket wins.

Skill or luck? You decide. As for me, I may choose to flip a coin next year because my bracket picked with thought and research may very well fall short. It's March.Cinderalla lives. Skill may be no match for that.