Off-Field News

2015 College and Magnolia Bracket of Brackets Round 2

Round one is in the books with only a few upsets. Let's take a look at the new match-ups!

By Walt Austin, PlainsmanParkingLot, Everett Duke, and theplaymaker Mar 21, 2015, 11:01am CDT

One round is down, and we're on to Round 2! You can check out the first round and original article here. For the big picture, high-res versions of Kevin's Box Art, check out this imgur page. Don't forget to vote in the widget at the bottom!

Folks Region

(1) Hotties vs (5) Authors

Hotties cruised to a victory in Round 1, taking 77% of the vote to defeat (8) Mt Rushmores. Now it goes up against the #5 seeded Authors, which pulled off the slight upset in the closest match-up of the bracket (55%-45%) over the 4th seeded Presidents. I have to admit, that's not an upset I thought would occur. I guess more people are interested in ranking their favorite authors than they are in ranking best or worst real or fictional Presidents!

I think this is likely to be the end of the line for (5) Authors, though. Hotties is a juggernaut that while not quite 2014/15 Kentucky, it is one of those that is a traditional powerhouse. Authors are a very fun subject, but they just don't inspire the excitement that Hotties do.

(2) Villains vs (3) Heroes.

Villains also had an easy victory, capturing 85% of the vote against (7) Celebrity Ex's. That was a bit of a no-brainer, though. Kind of like those Celebrity Ex's, themselves. Now (2) Villains faces its toughest foe, ever: 3rd seeded Heroes! (3) Heroes scored a clear victory over (6) Philosophers, but not as lopsided as the Villains (68% - 32%). That's a shame, really. The Philosoraptor image was one of my absolute favorites.

That's right, it's the classic showdown. Who are the best characters? The good guys or the bad guys? It's time for you to choose which bracket you enjoy reading about and debating the most!

NOMS Region

(1) BBQ vs (4) Pizza Toppings

I can't say there were any surprises, here. BBQ was a clear #1 and soared to a 90% - 10% Victory over Fast Food. That's the largest margin of victory, by far. Pizza Toppings had a tougher time with Nuts than I would have thought, only getting a 73%-27% victory.

Pizza Toppings has a lot going for it. There's a variety of options you can choose from and a lot of ways you can combine those into delicious things. It would be even more interesting if we added in styles of pizza. Then we could argue about things like deep-dish isn't really pizza. It's just a meat pie. Or glorified lasagna. That's right, I said it. COME AT ME.

BBQ still holds a clear advantage. This is especially true given the Southern nature of the readership here at College and Magnolia. I don't see BBQ having too much of a challenge getting into the quarterfinals.

(2) Alcohol vs (6) Candy Bars

Candy Bars' upset of Condiments is the biggest upset of the tournament, so far. However, the Cinderella story likely ends there as it goes up against the juggernaut that is Alcohol. Snacks never really stood a chance against Alcohol. Candy Bars presents an interesting match-up, but I just don't see it happening. Alcohol has already defeated Snacks. Candy Bars (really a subset of Snacks if we're honest) likely doesn't stand a chance.

SPROTS/ENTERTAINMENT Region

(1) Sports Bloggers vs (5) Bond Movies

I figured Sports Bloggers would get a good push given the nature of this website, and they were up against a very weak opponent in The Bachelor Contestants. I did not expect Sports Bloggers to tie for the highest margin of victory with a 90% haul of the vote. I guess I should be proud!

Meanwhile, Bond Movies took down 80s Movies in what is an upset in seeding numbers, only. When you've got the #4 vs the #5, it's more of a push, anyway. So, Messrs. Connery, Moore, Lazenby, Dalton, Brosnan, and Craig will now take on the Sports Bloggers. This is a pretty good chance for #1 to go down, honestly. IT'LL SHOW THAT THERE COMMITTEE WAS BIASED, PAAAWWWWLL.

(2) Rock Bands vs (3) 90s TV Shows

Rock Bands didn't have much of a struggle with Wrestlemania IV. I'm sorry, Everett. 77% of the people think you're wrong. Now it takes on a tough opponent in 90s TV Shows. 90s TV Shows received 60% of the vote over SPROTS DYNASTIES. So, that whole thing about this being a sports site and that influencing people? I guess not!

I think this could really go a long way towards showing the demographics of our readership on the site is. I think the older crowd would lean more towards Rock Bands, while the younger crowd will like the 90s TV Shows. The really young swing demographic of college students are on Spring Break (or at least at Auburn they are), so there's no telling how this could end up!

STUFF Region

(1) Hats vs (4) Nintendo Games

I thought Hats was the most likely contestant that could suffer a devastating Round 1 defeat at the hands of Actual Brackets. Hats just aren't all that interesting, and I thought some may vote for the Actual Brackets for the fun and irony of it. I was wrong. 71% voted for Hats. So, they go on to take on Nintendo Games, which took down NASCAR Sponsors in Round 1 with 85% of the vote. Sorry Beudreaux's Butt Paste.

Sports Bloggers could fall in Round 2, but I think Hats are in the most danger, here. Nintendo Games are just so much more exciting and fun as a topic and produce so much more debate than Hats do. The right side of this bracket could see both it's #1 seeds go down before the quarterfinals!

(2) Shoes vs (3) Books for Dummies

Apparently no one likes things that are meta, huh? Shoes struggled a bit with one of the lower margins, but at 56% of the vote, it still moves on to Round 2. It will face Books for Dummies, which took down the dreaded Income Tax Brackets. No one likes Income Tax Brackets, am I right? Anyone? Bueller?

Well I thought it was kinda funny.

So, another #2 vs #3 as all four top seeds survived Round 1 in this region. This one could go either way. It's a hard one to try to predict, and anyone could win!

VOTING

Round 2 will run from today through Monday night (March 23rd). The remaining schedule is as follows:

Round 3 - March 24th - March 27th

Round 4 - March 28th - March 30th

Round 5 - March 31st - April 2nd

Winner will be announced on Friday, April 3rd!