HAIL TO OLD K-LEW 2015

There's a blog post explanation to accompany this. Read it here. 
Back again for another year. Gotta give the people what they want.

The Midwest Region:

(1) Kentucky over (16) Whoever wins the play-in game.  I'm convinced that this year's Kentucky team is actually the Monstars from Space Jam with newly acquired technology in that Basketball of theirs to make them look like humans instead of cartoons. If I had any sort of common sense (or if any of my bracket contests were for a large amount of money) I would have Kentucky go all the way, but I'd rather watch my bracket go to shit than write K-E-N-T-U-C-K-Y in the National Championship slot.

(9) Purdue over (8) Cincinnati. This is more of a "I DON'T choose Cincinnati" thing. Ohio is the worst state in the nation. I never pick Ohio ever. Also for some reason Purdue reminds me of chicken nuggets? Why is that? Whatever. Chicken nuggets are like my favorite food. Purdue it is.

(12) Buffalo over (5) West Virginia. Because my cousins are from Buffalo. Also West Virginia is gross also KU beat them in football once which is hilarious. KU never beats anyone in football. If you lose to KU Football, you deserve to be upset by a 12 seed in the first round.

(4) Maryland over (13) Valparaiso 1. I have no idea where Valparaiso is and I have too many tabs open right now to open a new one to look it up. 2. Maryland has pretty good cheerleading.

(11) Texas over (6) Butler.  I think lots of people are going to pick Butler here, and I want to be DIFFERENT, YOU GUYS. I also want to be able to gloat if I was right and everyone else was wrong. Maybe Texas will be my Cinderella story? Actually probably not because I have them losing in the next round. Just felt like I needed to mention Cinderella. Also Texas is home to Whataburger and Whataburger is DELICIOUS. DID I MENTION HOW GREAT CINDERELLA IS!?

(3) Notre Dame over (14) Northeastern.  The "Don't Be A Dummy" theory (explained below). Also Northeastern reminds me of a nor'eastern which is a terrible snowstorm. YOU ALL SHOULD KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT TERRIBLE SNOW STORMS. I DO NOT LIKE THEM. IFSO FACTO, I DO NOT LIKE YOU NORTHEASTERN.

(7) Wichita State over (10) Indiana. When I make this pick I sing this song in my head:
"MY MINNNDDDDS TELLIN ME NOOOOOOO. BUT MY BODY, MY BODY'S TELLIN ME YES!" aka I don't really have a reasoning. Leslie Knope is from Pawnee Indiana and I love her, but I gotta throw a bone to my fellow Kansans. Even though I hate Wichita. Wait. Is it too late to go back and change this one? Oh well, if Indiana wins this it'll be less of a bummer because yeah my bracket will be wrong but at least I'll have received what I wanted. Silver lining. Wichita sucks. So fine Wichita, I pick you, but I'm rooting for Indiana.

(2) Kansas over (15) New Mexico State. I don't think I have to explain this one, but I will anyway. THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS IS LITERALLY THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ANYONE EVER OF ALL TIME EVER. I'm fired up you guys. Rock Chalk Jayhawk. (In case you were curious, I picked them to win the entire thing. I'm like a member of Olivia Pope and Associates and KU is like Olivia Pope: I would follow her (it) over a cliff. BLIND FAITH, YOU GUYS.)

The West Region

(1) Wisconsin over (16) Costal Carolina.  While yes, I do use a lot of nonsense as part of my strategy for creating some of the top scoring brackets of all time, I'm not an idiot. Sometimes I do pick teams that I know are clearly better than their opponents. I always pick all of the #1 seeds to make it past the 1st round. I call this the "don't be a dummy" theory.

(9) Oklahoma State over (8) Oregon. OKLAHOMA STATE HAS PHENOMENAL CHEERELEADING. THAT IS THAT. (Also I loathe Oregon).

(5) Arkansas over (12) Wofford. My roommate and friend for LIFE Huckabay went to Arkansas. I also ALMOST went there so I pick them. Pretty glad I didn't go there though. No offense. Also Wofford sounds kind of like Waffles. Who can even take them seriously?


(13) Harvard over (4) UNC. THIS ONE WAS VERY HARD. I usually always pick Harvard without question because Elle Woods went to Harvard and she's my favorite fictional character of all time (Cinderella close second). I also usually always pick UNC without question because Carolina Blue is like my favorite shade of blue. I picked Harvard because UNC has Roy Williams, who left Kansas to coach at North Carolina. PEOPLE DON'T FORGET.

(11) Ole Miss over (6) Xavier: The Blind Side was a great movie. Sandra Bullock ROCKED in it, and Leigh Anne Tuohy was a Kappa Delta at Ole Miss. HODDY TODDY, Y'ALL.

(3) Baylor over (14) Georgia State. "Don't Be A Dummy." I have them going all the way to the final four, so that Kansas can STOMP ON THEIR FACES and do the hippity skippity all the way to the National Championship : ) TRA. FREAKIN. LA.

(7) VCU over (10) Ohio State. I hereby refer to this matchup as the "Deplora-bowl" because I hate both of these schools with a lot of my being (I'm not going to say "every fiber" because I don't even waste that much energy on them.) VCU gets my vote because VCU beat KU in 2011. That deserves some respect. So there ya go VCU. That's all you're gettin from me.This is like picking the nicest terrorist. Woof. Ohio is the worst state in the nation. Never pick Ohio, unless they're against Kentucky.

(2) Arizona over (15) Texas Southern because I said so. That is reason enough, peasants. Also "Don't Be A Dummy."

The East Region

(1) Villanova over (16) Lafayette. Don't be a Dummy. Also Mary Lewis wanted to go to Villanova, so I'll give them an ounce of love.  Also aren't their colors blue and blue?

(9) LSU over (8) NC State. Because Dan the Man went to LSU until he got shot there doing acts of heroism. Points for acts of heroism. Also if Dan likes you then I like you. Basically Danny Lewis is the coolest person I've ever come in contact with, so this one goes out to him.

(5) Northern Iowa over (12) Wyoming.  You're telling me I have to pick between Iowa and Wyoming? I DO NOT THINK SO, UNIVERSE. BOTH PLACES SUCK. It doesn't even matter who I picked because I have them losing to Louisville in the next game. (I picked Iowa though. I'm a Bachelor fan.)


(4) Louisville over (13) UC Irvine LOUISVILLE HAS THE BEST CHEERLEADERS IN THE NATION.

(11) Whoever wins the play in over (6) Providence. Thought I'd mix it up a bit. I feel like everyone's going to pick Providence so I want to be able to be smug if they don't win. Also, that's how little I care about Providence. Don't even know who the option is and I pick it over Providence.

(3) Oklahoma over (14) Albany. I quite enjoy Oklahoma. I think I could have really liked it had I attended. They have Cane's there. What else do you need? (Do NOT, however, condone the SAE stuff as of late. I have them facing off against Virginia in the next round...LOL battle of the schools with the most Greek scandals!)

(10) Georgia over (7) Michigan State. It snows in Michigan. It doesn't in Georgia. That whole "oh, 2 snowflakes fall out of the sky so all of the sudden we forget how to exist" thing seems like something I could get used to, like the people in Georgia did last year when they had that "blizzard." DUH I PICK GEORGIA. Also Huckabay and I went on a college visit to UGA junior year and it was really fun.

(2) Virginia over (15) Belmont Tina Fey graduated from the University of Virginia, so that logic perpetuated them all the way to the Final 4 for me. UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT Y'ALL. GO WATCH IT.

The South Region

(1) Duke over (16) Whoever wins the play-in game SIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHH. I hate Duke. "Don't Be A Dummy" Theory, but I have them losing in the Sweet 16.

(9) St. John's over (8) San Diego St. To borrow from my dear friend +Kathryn Hoven 's strategy: "When in doubt, choose the Catholics." Also New York > California. Always.

(5) Utah over (12) Stephen F. Austin. I might have been drunk while making my picks? Why do I like Utah over Stephen F. Austin? I don't. It snows in Utah. It doesn't in Texas. I thought "oh well Aunt Patty lives in Utah sometimes and I love Aunt Patty," but Aunt Patty also lives in Texas! Thanking my lucky stars brackets aren't due yet. I'm going back to change this one.  I DO WHAT I WANT. Dodged that bullet. (12) Stephen F. Austin over (5) Utah.

(4) Georgetown over (13) Eastern Washington. Because Georgetown reminds me of Olivia Pope and I think she rocks. Didn't Mellie go to Georgetown? I don't think so, but this gives me a platform to tell you people that Mellie is the best character on Scandal. I have Georgetown defeating Duke to go to the Elite 8. Somebody had to be called upon to defeat Duke. It was Georgetown's time to shine. Also Georgetown reminds me of George Washington and that hilarious meme article that +Kerry Benn and I found earlier this year. Except I guess shouldn't Eastern Washington remind me of George Washington? Too bad. It doesn't.

(6) SMU over (11) UCLA Because I picked all the other 11 seeds.

(3) Iowa State over (14) UAB.  Even though I NEVER EVER EVER want to see another Iowa State fan as long as I live, I still give them this vote. They beat KU in the Big 12 Tournament Championship. So, respect, but NEVER COME BACK TO KANSAS CITY THIS PAST WEEKEND WAS SO ANNOYING. WHO COMES TO KC AND SPENDS THEIR ENTIRE WEEKEND IN THE POWER AND LIGHT DISTRICT? (I have them going to the National Championship and losing to KU in one of my brackets with my college friends. HOW'S THAT FEEL, CYCLONES?!?!?!?!)

(10) Davidson over (7) Iowa. I happen to know Tyler Kalinoski, the Player of the year and star of Davidson. He's one of Dan's pals from high school. I want him to do well during his senior year! Also I can't pick THREE Iowa schools. Iowa sucks, you guys.

(2) Gonzaga over (15) North Dakota St. Can you imagine how cold it gets in North Dakota? No thanks.

Fame Update: American Heartland Council Bluffs

WHAT. A. WEEKEND.

Here I am with an update from our second cheerleading competition in a row out of four in a row in the month of February. My mom told me I needed to be really careful and take care of myself so I didn't get worn down by this MARATHON OF CHEERLEADING COMPETITIONS. Too little too late is what I say, because I didn't even make it past the first one. I got diagnosed with the flu last Thursday, meaning I wasn't going to be able to go to Council Bluffs with Fame on Friday. :'(

There was no way I was going to just sit around at home and wait to see what happened with my kids, so I found a way to Council Bluffs late after I was feeling better. I kind of got lucky, because they had a run in with some bed bugs and about a zillion hotel changes before I got there. I was able to conveniently skip all of that.

Day 1 Fame looked pretty good. They had zero deductions, but they didn't look as solid as they did last week in OKC. We think the mayhem with the hotels from Friday kind of spooked them a little, and according to them "the music was really quiet." We POUNCED on this accusation and told them they were going to need to learn to generate their own energy on the floor because when we get to Dallas they won't be surrounded by the entire gym (like they were in OKC.) They ended day 1 with a 96.1 and in 1st place by about 3 points. We were kind of bummed about the score, but the competition was scoring low in general. So relatively speaking, it was decently accurate. (The Frosties got kind of screwed. Scored SO LOW for NO REASON.)

The judging was kind of crazy at this event. It was really unclear compared to the others we have been to, and a lot of our teams had been scoring uncharacteristically low. We didn't really know what to tell Fame as far as their standings for the Summit bid were concerned. We just told them they needed to practice generating their own energy and preparing for their upcoming trips to NCA. They went out on Day 2 and had a better performance than they did day 1. Still zero deductions. That's 5 zero-deduction performances in a row!

We had really no idea where we were in the running for a Summit Bid going into awards, so we told Fame not to get their hopes up. Much to our surprise, they announced that the Summit Bid was going to the winner of the Large Junior Level 3 Division. THAT'S US! WE'RE GOING TO THE SUMMIT!

The girls were SO EXCITED. They keep asking us all of these questions about the Summit and Disney and getting shirts and extra practices. We just keep telling them to slow their rolls. We have NCA to worry about!.

This coming weekend is Jamfest in Kansas City, and then NCA in Dallas the weekend after that. We're working really hard on perfection and performance value. Watch out Dallas, we're coming for you!

...

Fame Update: ASC Oklahoma City

It was a CRAZY weekend in Oklahoma City. ASC is the competition to which KC Cheer brings all of its teams, so we had 12 teams performing. That makes for two 12-hour days. Not kidding. It was EXHAUSTING.

Fame was in a division with not one, but TWO Woodlands Elite Teams. Woodlands Elite is a very prestigious gym from the Houston area, and we knew they were going to be in for a challenge. We drilled the girls all week long about cleanliness on the floor and good technique. We knew a clean routine was going to be what won the title, because these Texas teams have a LOT of difficulty. 

Fame and Fierce 5 went back to back on both days, so the energy in the practice room was electric. It was awesome to watch them cheer for one another, and the Fierce 5 kids pumped the Fame kids up backstage. They were READY TO TAKE THE FLOOR! 

Fame hit another zero deduction routine on Saturday (2 in a row!) and looked really good. Clearly that pep talk worked from Fierce 5. Can we get one of those every time? Hehe. They ended the day in 1st place by a small margin, because Woodlands Elite Captains had a deduction. Their raw score on day 1 was 96.7, the highest to date. Captains' raw score was higher than Fame's without their deduction, so we knew it was going to be close. 

On Sunday we had another great day in the practice room and another really high-energy performance. Sunday's performance had zero deductions and was the best I have seen from them so far. We were so excited to watch them do so well! Fame ended up winning first place by .1. The girls were ecstatic to prove they were able to hold their own against two huge Texas teams. They ended Sunday with an even higher score, 97.1. This was really exciting news for Zonko and I, because we know they need to be scoring that high for any chance at a Summit Bid or an NCA title. 

We'll see Woodlands Elite Captains again at NCA. We're pretty sure they're going to be in our division. It will be fun to go head to head with them again. I'm a little biased, but I think Fame will come out on top! :) 

WOO WOO WOO THE FAME-ILY IS 5-0!