At the close of the first day of voting on Thursday, with the exception of one match-up where “The Climb” was up by 5 votes in the Cartoon/Kid Region, all eight contests in the Sweet 16 were within 3 votes of each other and we had three ties. I told y’all these were almost impossible decisions!

And let me just say. Dudes, dudettes, and non-duderinos alike… y’all made some choices this week. I looked at the final votes on the way home Sunday night and truly had my jaw drop a couple of times. We haven’t really had any shocking upsets this tournament so far, but the Sweet 16 more than made up for it. We had two ties (almost three) and lost our first 1 seed. Holy jeez.

So here we are. The Regional Finals begin now and voting will end Wednesday, April 3 at 5pm Central. This tournament always surprises me every year with how fast it flies by. We are at the best vs the best. Good luck making up your mind going forward. Mine is mush.

But first — Let’s get on to the results! Remember all “scores” are percentages from voting.

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Sweet 16

Rockstar Region

(1) “Scotty Doesn’t Know” – Eurotrip vs (12) “School of Rock (Teacher’s Pet)” – School of Rock

As much as I love the entirety of 12 seed School of Rock, I assumed this would be a runaway win for our 1 seed “Scotty Doesn’t Know”. Even as late as Saturday night, this match-up was a 3 vote squeaker. At the end of the voting period our 1 seed got a bit of a run to finish 5 votes up (which is tied for the biggest spread in voting) and take the win 65-35.

(2) “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” – O Brother, Where Art Thou? vs (3) “Black Sheep” – Scott Pilgrim vs The World

I leaned 3 seed “Black Sheep” in this one, but it is as close as could possibly be. I adore O Brother, Where Art Thou? and it was so hard to make a decision here. Y’all struggled just as much as I did as Saturday night this one was all tied up! In the end, the 2 seed “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow” got a last second shot to knock off my dark horse to take the whole tournament by one vote. The final here was 53-47!

Cartoon/Kid Region

(1) “The Climb” – Hannah Montana: The Movie vs (4) “Nobody Like U” – Turning Red

As noted in the intro, “The Climb” was our biggest “runaway”, as it were, when they were up 5 votes on Thursday evening. The boys from Turning Red made a run and closed the gap, but at the whistle, Miley was just too much as our 1 seed moves to the Regional Final by a final of 65-35.

(2) “Peaches” – The Super Mario Bros. Movie vs (3) “I 2 I (Eye to Eye) – A Goofy Movie

I’ve said before that I think the 3 seed from A Goofy Movie is actually the strongest song in this region. On the other hand, we have Bowser’s love song to Princess Peach which is just a phenom. This was the most difficult pick of the Sweet 16 for me personally. When I checked in on Saturday night, the 2 seed “Peaches” was up by 3 votes. This one was back-and-forth all weekend. The final saw “Peaches” go on a late run that Powerline just could not rebound from – Bowser moves on here by 2 votes 56-44.

Solo Region

(1) “That Thing You Do” – That Thing You Do vs (4) “I’m Just Ken” – Barbie

I had a gut feeling that the Solo Region’s 1 seed from That Thing You Do may really be up against it. The 4 seed “I’m Just Ken” is truly having a moment. This one was one of those match-ups where the lower seed got out to a quick start and the 1 seed kept it close but ultimately just ran out of steam and fell to the 4 seed 53-47. That’s another 1 vote victory! Our first 1 seed falls in the Sweet 16! Sounds oddly familiar…

(2) “Lose Yourself” – 8 Mile vs (3) “Grow Old With You” – The Wedding Singer

Our 2 seed in this region, “Lose Yourself”, was a fan favorite to win the whole thing. After getting a hell of a mouth punch in the Round of 32 from “Dracula’s Lament”, they struggled mightily with the Adam Sandler 3 seed. I was a little surprised by the closeness here but every time I checked in on this one, either team was up by only one vote. It was such a wild ride. The final here gave us the second tie of our entire tournament so far. Mrs. Clumsy Optimist was conscripted to break the tie on two of her favorites. I had no idea what she would pick but was a touch surprised when she landed on 2 seed “Lose Yourself”. Farewell, “Grow Old With You”, you beautiful record.

TV Region

(1) “5,000 Candles in the Wind (Bye Bye Li’l Sebastian)” – Parks & Recreation vs (4) “Kill The Turkey” – Bob’s Burgers

First, a note: I just realized I’ve been shortchanging the Parks & Recreation song title so far. That’s been rectified going forward… right at the end of the tourney.

Everybody’s (read: my) absolute favorite Thanksgiving song, 4 seed “Kill the Turkey”, has taken out some big names from South Park and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt so far. The 1 seed “Little Sebastian” came up against a sledgehammer. As late as Sunday morning, this one was in a tie! I truthfully did not see this coming. As the last seconds ticked off the clock, this one also remained knotted up at 50-50. Unfortunately for my love of the Belchers, this choice was much easier for me missus as “5,000 Candles In The Wind” was her TV 1 seed. The Rat Mouse anthem for Li’l Sebastian moves on via tiebreaker!

(2) “Let’s Go To the Mall” – How I Met Your Mother vs (3) “Smelly Cat” – Friends

Our final match-up in the Regional Semi-finals was another barnburner. Our 3 seed “Smelly Cat” lead from beginning to end but never by more than a vote or two. The Robin Sparkles 2 seed from How I Met Your Mother kept it close but never quite had that last push needed to get over the finish line as the behemoth 3 seed from Friends moves on to the Elite 8 by a three-vote final of 60-40.

So, after all the votes and upsets that happened we end our regions with the left side of the bracket getting two 1 vs 2 match-ups. The right side is just a little more exciting as we get a 2/4 and 1/3 match-up. The high seeds in this tournament were just so, so strong.

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That leaves our bracket looking like this:

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Elite 8

Rockstar Region

Cartoon/Kid Region

Solo Region

TV Region

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Alright everybody. Here we are. The finale of every region! Good luck figuring out who to vote for. These are so tough at this point. I can’t make up my mind and feel like I need to abstain from every match-up! Polls are open and will close on Wednesday, April 3 at 5pm Central.

Let’s get to voting and see who wins each region! See you guys on Thursday with our Final 4! Unreal that we are already here.