Is The Message

For the first time in 5 years, I don’t have an office pool to join for the NCAA Tournament. I’m a serious sports fan, and, next to the World Cup, the NCAA Tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world. So, what am I to do? I decided to try out every free to enter NCAA bracket competition online, and here is what I found:

First I hit the CBS Tournament. Other than requiring a ton of information (do you really NEED to have my phone number and mailing address), sign up was pretty easy. No email verification necessary. When selecting teams, a mouse over gives you a snapshot overview and what percentage of participants had picked that team. Very slick, but what about the hours I used to spend reading all sorts of bracket overviews?

Then I hit Rotohog. Very easy to sign up. The selection process was basic, but, on the plus side, come in first and you win $100.

ESPN is running their Tournament Challenge. They offer a top prize of 10k . They also have pop up details for each team. While the information is more detailed, they leave out the percentage selected by other participants. Personally, I like the ESPN info better than CBS’. The one annoying thing about signing up was the way they attempt to trick you to opting in to every newsletter and advertising vehicle they have. Brutal. It is like the RealPlayer of yore.

Over at Bracket Contest, signup was a snap, but there was one hidden check box for the newsletter (pre-checked for your convenience). The bracket was very bare bones. They opted for drop down menus, which can be pretty tedious. Their award system is a bit different. They set aside a pool for each round, and everyone that gets that round perfect splits the pot. Fill out a perfect bracket, you’ll have your share of $1,375,000. Not bad at all.

It certainly isn’t the same as sneaking out for a long lunch on Thursday with co-workers to watch the first matches. You also don’t have the personal connection to the people you are competing against. But, I did get an invitation from my sister and was able to easily add my picks to her work pool.