You may or may not know that I won most of the brackets I entered this year. My picks were pretty on point. You can see one of the winning brackets here. I finished in the overall place of 9772, which is the 99.8 percentile, and I ran the East Bracket, which is always one of my goals.
Alas, that’s not what this post is about. This post is inspired by Johnny Carpenter or @jonayonthespot or Gideonitis.
I hate what picking a bracket or any fantasy sport does to me. It’s utter madness. Last night, while watching the championship game I rooted for Kentucky. I hate Calipari. I think he stands for most of what’s wrong with College Basketball (he’s not the only one, he’s probably just the best at it). But, I rooted for Kentucky. I pulled for the favorite. Why? Because I picked them, and I’d get some sweet shirts out of the deal. Thanks Robert Redd.
I don’t just do this in College Basketball. I do this in Football, Nascar (yes, I play fantasy nascar), golf (yes, I play fantasy golf), and any other sport I pick fantasy teams in.
I hate it.
I also can’t stop it. Fantasy sports have changed the nature of watching the game and I’ve found myself along for the ride.
I wish I could finish this post with I don’t want to be along for the ride, but I will enjoy those shirts when they get here!
Moran's Musings 
I concur; it’s hard to separate who you’d really root for versus who you’re supposed to root for fantasy-wise. I almost ran the Midwest bracket (Ohio and NC State included; only missed the regional final) and had UNC winning it all, and I was lucky my senses kicked in during the UNC/Ohio game enough to say “Forget brackets: go upset, go Ohio!”.
Jon – This made me LOL! I also hate that some games start after 9pm (INCLUDING THE CHAMPTIONSHIP!) STUPID WEST COAST! I hate not being able to enjoy watching all the games.