So a classmate of mine (a crazy Duke fan, no less) suggested that we engage in a bit of cross-cultural exchange this spring by initiating our French teacher (and one poor British student) into the wonders of Bracketology. Simple enough, right? I mean, it’s just 64 American college teams with 4 extra play-in teams playing a totally foreign game all over a totally foreign country over a 3 week period, during which office productivity drops significantly and people who were once nice to each other come close to blows over “bad calls” and “free throw percentages.” Ça va?
Bless her heart, our teacher was totally following until we got to the bracket part. There doesn’t seem to be an adequate word for “bracket” in French. So we drew a picture and likened it to the seeding chart for the French Open, which she totally got. And then we told her to get picking– all of the games until the very last one.
Mais c’est pas possible! she gasped.
Tell me about it lady.
We said the seeding and rank could help you pick, but when it really came down to it, one just had to devine the outcome. And devine she did: Our 60 year old French teacher, who’s probably never watched a day of college basketball in her life, is currently 34 for 44 and rocking first place. Bien sur.
Unlikely Diplomat 