Wayne Reid of Powder Springs is the champion of the 2013 edition of Bradley’s Bracket Fiasco, and he prevailed on a tiebreaker that involved the final score of Monday’s Louisville-Michigan final. Not that we can describe our winner as being on pins and needles as the championship game wound down. Fact is, he went to bed.
“I couldn’t finish it — I had to be at work in the morning,” Reid said, further proof that the wheels of commerce don’t stop even for a Fiasco.
Reid, who’s 37, is an administrator for Dexter’s Farm, a produce company. He attended Georgia State, but roots for Georgia Tech. He entered the Fiasco before, but never with such spectacular results. He was one of 15 entrants — 15 of 4,754 — who picked three of the Final Four correctly. Nobody got all four. Wichita State pretty much saw to that.
“When Wichita State got in, my bracket started to fall apart,” Reid said. “Then it came together again.”
Reid edged Reginald Reese of Hampton in the closest finish in Fiasco’s 26-year history. Reese, who’s 36, works for the U.S. Postal Service and had an inkling his bracket would be in the proverbial hunt. “I came close,” he said. “It’s all in fun.
Well, yes. But we do have prizes. As champion, Reid receives a $1,000 gift card from Comcast and our traditional winner’s Final Four sweatshirt/hoodie. For coming so close, Reese gets a consolation sweatshirt.
As for me: I did pick Louisville to win it all and Wichita State to upset Gonzaga, but that was about it. The upsets I picked — Montana over Syracuse! — didn’t happen, and the ones I didn’t pick did. There was a time when I figured I would finish 4,754th, but I guess Louisville kept me afloat. I actually wound up in the 65th percentile — 1,648th overall — and that’s not bad by my wretched standards.
I finished smack in the middle of the 14-person VIP flight. Chuck Oliver of 680 the Fan won our little competition, and AJC editor Kevin Riley finished second. (Actually, I ran a rather revolting last among the three AJC VIP’s: Publisher Amy Glennon was fifth.) The former R.E.M. bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Mike Mills, our unforgettable 1999 Fiasco champ, finished third.
On the bright side, I did finish ahead of Mayor Kasim Reed and Gov. Nathan Deal, and it was with a sigh of relief that I note that I fared better than David Justice and Chipper Jones. Had I not, I never would have heard the end of it.
On a personal note: Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks to the AJC folks — Cynthia Dubose, Drue Miller, Emily Merwin and Rudy Isaza — who made it work. If the Good Lord’s willin’ and the creeks don’t rise, we’ll do it again next year.
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