March Madness

March Madness is upon us as the NCAA men's basketball tournament begins today.  The Heinisch children have their brackets filled out.  We have all debated the possible champions and each of us secretly hopes that IU is this year's big winner.  

As I review our family's brackets I can read each of our personality's in the picks.  Doug afraid of being disappointed picked IU to lose in the round of 16.  This way he can be happy he chose the correct winner in the IU vs. Syracuse game or he can enjoy IU's victory as a Hoosier alumni.  Brett figured out many years ago that the best route is to pick all of the top seeds as big upsets are rare.  That makes sense to me since he is my play it safe child, ever reliable and dependable.  Cal always picks a Cinderella team.  Some years it pays off great and some years not so much.  He likes the underdogs in life as they are a lot like him.  Each have a dream and work hard to try to reach it.  Meg chooses her teams with her Dad.  She admires him, looks up to him and values his opinion, even if she doesn't always act like it.  Cameron is my great thinker.  He put a lot of time into picking the winners in his bracket, asking questions of Doug or Cal, researching the teams history and using his best educated opinion on each game.  

My parents have joined the Heinisch pool this year.  Their personalities are easy to spot as well.  My Mom makes sure her picks will not win the pool.  She doesn't want any of the grandchildren to "feel like losers", so she makes sure she always finishes last.  My Dad's picks usually have someone outrageous making it to the Final Four.  He loves getting a rise out of his grandchildren and giving them something to tease him about until the next basketball season.  

This year I analyzed my bracket as well.  Does it reflect my personality?  I was surprised to find out that it does?  I have stayed loyal to the teams I have always rooted for.  I chose ones that I like more than ones that have a chance of winning.  My favorite teams are those that have had a consistent, honest program.  I believe that is how I view life - loyalty, honesty and stability are three things that I value most.  I do not know if this works for every person who fills out a bracket during the month of March, but for the Heinisch  and Musser family members our picks during March Madness are a tell tale sign of who we are on the inside!