And just like that, we are already down to the regional finals. Crazy how fast time flies! Welcome to the Elite 8.
And let me just say. Y’all. We had a couple of massive shockers (to me, at least) this week. I looked at the final votes on the way to home Sunday night and truly had my jaw drop on one of these. This particular bracket, has gone almost completely scratch thus far with the higher seeds moving on and maybe I was getting a bit of a big head that you all collectively decided to pop. Well done. We lost some favorites to win the whole damn thing in the Sweet 16.
So here we are. The Regional Finals begin now and voting will end Wednesday, April 1 at 5pm Central. No April Fools, I promise! 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. I am officially at a loss on how to vote on all of these.
But first — Let’s get on to the results! Remember all “scores” are percentages from voting.
Sweet 16
Gary & Mary Region
(1) Kermit the Frog vs (4) Beaker
Our first matchup in the Sweet 16 went about how I think everyone thought it would as 4 seed Beaker put up a fight, but the 1 seed Kermit was just too much as the frog moves on 71-29.
(2) Animal vs (3) The Swedish Chef
This one I thought may be a little closer but ended up with the exact same score as 2 seed Animal takes down 3 seed The Swedish Chef 71-29. Bork! Bork! Bork!
Scrooge Region
(1) Miss Piggy vs (4) Statler & Waldorf
This is the first matchup this entire tournament that blew me away. Although the voters had made it clear that Miss Piggy wasn’t the favorite 1 seed in the tournament, never posting higher than 76 points. But she was fully blown out in the Sweet 16 by professional hecklers Statler & Waldorf by a final of 65-35. Wild!
(2) The Great Gonzo vs (3) Fozzie Bear
This was a really tough choice for me, even though Gonzo is my favorite. I do have a soft spot for Fozzie Bear. In a very strange twist, our second region ends up just like our first region with the exact same score in the two matchups as The Great Gonzo moves on 65-35. Wocka wocka!
Mr Hooper Region
(1) Elmo vs (4) Ernie
I do feel like the Gary/Mary Region and the Mr. Hooper Region were quite top heavy with the 1 and 2 seeds being clear favorites. The 1 seed here, Elmo, faced his toughest competition yet, but 4 seed Ernie just did not have the fire power, falling to the little red monster by a final of 71-29.
(2) Grover vs (3) Abby Cadabby
Grover is also a personal favorite and Abby ran up against the blue monster who would not be held down as Super Grover wins the semifinal 76-24.
Mr Noodle Region
(1) Big Bird vs (5) Mr. Snuffleupagus
This one was TOUGH. Big Bird vs his (what we thought was) imaginary friend Snuffleupagus. Turns out he was real all along! Snuffy put up as much of a fight as he could but ultimately Big Bird gets to the final 65-35.
(2) Cookie Monster vs (3) Oscar the Grouch
This matchup right here. I had such a difficult time picking this one. Every time I checked in on this race over the weekend Cookie or Oscar was up by one or two votes. So it seems like y’all had as much issue choosing as I did. At the end of voting, much to my shock, the 3 seed Oscar the Grouch held on to a 1-vote margin over a 2 seed Cookie Monster, that was one of my three top picks to win the entire tournament, to win by a final of 53-47. You people are monsters! lol
So, after all the votes were tallied, we end up with all but one of our 1 seeds making the regional finals. All of our regional finalists are all top 4 seeds but we lost our first 1 seed as well as a 2 seed I thought may win the whole tournament in shocking upsets. Our final four matchups give us two 1/2 matches (which are full on impossible to pick!), a 1/3 match, and one region with the 2/4 seeds getting through.
That leaves our bracket looking like this (Click to expand. It gets a little crowded):
Elite 8
Gary & Mary Region
(1) Kermit the Frog vs (2) Animal
Scrooge Region
(2) The Great Gonzo vs (4) Statler & Waldorf
Mr Hooper Region
(1) Elmo vs (2) Grover
Mr Noodle Region
(1) Big Bird vs (3) Oscar the Grouch
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 on every match-up! Polls are open and will close on Wednesday, April 1 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.
The Clumsy Optimist 