12th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Final Four Results and Championship Voting

 

Weeks of voting gets us to the top two seeds facing off. Yawn. Which off-putting but hilarious midwestern accent will we choose? Pittsburgh is long overdue, but Chicago has the better housing and flight situation. Both have home baseball games, but the Pitt stadium is preferable given that the Cubs are not at home (ironically in Pitt). Does the casino situation have some pull even without Barnard present? Does anyone have interest in a (potential) suite for the Chicago Sky on Sunday night? Let's answer these questions in the next 48 hours.

12th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Elite Eight Results and Final Four Voting

 

After two rounds of Madness, we're at the Final Four and it's as chalky as possible. Tampa barely surviving two rounds in a row doesn't bode well for it's matchup against the juggernaut in the Windy City, but apparently a studio tour is more appealing than it sounds? On the other side we have perpetual bridesmaid Pittsburgh against a polarizing Vegas. It's shocking that we haven't actually made it to Pitt yet, but it's equally shocking that we haven't been to Vegas since 2011 and it's never actually won this bracket (or made the Finals as far as I can remember). I'd say that the favorites are Pitt and Chicago, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see any finals matchup or champion.

12th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Sweet Sixteen Results and Elite Eight Voting

We have FALAFEL history as not one, but two 6-seeds made the Elite Eight. Making it even more surprising is that one of them is where a league member lives, and the other is in Iowa. They don't call it madness for nothing!

The bottom regions have been almost entirely chalk, and other than a Tampa overtime win, the 1-seeds have not really been challenged. I maintain that Chicago and Minneapolis are on a collision course, but if this year has shown us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.

 

12th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - First Round Results and Sweet Sixteen Voting

 I haven't done extensive research, but I believe this is the first time that multiple 6 seeds advanced in the same year, made even more incredible by one of them being Des Moines. Other than that, no big upsets, though Burlington had a slight sweat. The bracket looks ripe for a potential Chicago/Minneapolis rematch, and barring another shock diagnosis from a league member, I have a feeling we end up in the northern Midwest.

12th Annual FALAFEL Draft Location Madness - Bracket Reveal and First Round Voting

 

No massive shocks here. Some high seeds for locations that only one person voted for (Wisconsin Dells, Fort Worth, Jersey Shore), but otherwise pretty standard stuff for us at this point. Tampa getting a 1 seed, and the third most points was a mild surprise, but just like Bennett, I expect it to make it decently far before falling to a much better location. Also worth mentioning that Vegas, NOLA, and Nashville are potential repeat locations, which would have them join Ithaca in that esteemed category.