2011
Ten years ago, I made my first-ever #GiantBracket, inspired by the Mid-Majority:
And what a year for it, as it turned out!
![IMG_3470](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090743015_a45b6fb1d3_c.jpg)
![IMG_3513](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090477738_e61260deda_c.jpg)
![IMG_3793](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089906096_8257ee6073_c.jpg)
2012
I couldn’t find one photo showing the 2012 #GiantBracket in its final, post-championship form, but here are a few photos that collectively show most of it.
Heading into the Sweet Sixteen:
![IMG_2865(1)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089905726_f1d6c2488e_c.jpg)
Heading into the championship game:
![IMG_3115(1)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089905511_0dde156890_c.jpg)
After the title game:
![IMG_3182(1)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089908031_fe5b9ebbd2_c.jpg)
The “2-year-old overlord” comment refers to the fact that our middle daughter won my office pool that year, with Kentucky’s championship clinching her win.
Also in 2012, we did a #GiantBracket for the women’s tournament, which (unlike dad’s bracket) the girls had free rein to draw on:
![IMG_3651](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090450998_998796bbcd_c.jpg)
![IMG_3381(1)](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090450838_eca7e34333_c.jpg)
2013
The first major #GiantBracket subplot in 2013 was the LaSalle “Explorers” earning the fandom of one Dora the Explorer:
![IMG_9801](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090045637_20f10d652a_c.jpg)
Also, Harvard fought fiercely — and won!
![IMG_9783](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089961121_c4e090217c_c.jpg)
But then Wichita State became the big story, first by making me sad (beating Gonzaga), then by making me happy (with another Mid-Majority run to the Final Four).
![IMG_9865](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090033884_64def92650_c.jpg)
![IMG_0082](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090502263_9557acfcb5_c.jpg)
![IMG_0085](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090768050_876aa5ebd2_c.jpg)
![IMG_0409](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089993672_6c0cb3a607_c.jpg)
2014
A year later, Wichita State wasn’t a Cinderella surprise, but an undefeated #1 seed. Bally was excited!
![IMG_1094](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51096989276_e139d0302c_c.jpg)
And this wasn’t just any mid-major dream season. The Mid-Majority’s 10-year run was ending whenever the last mid-major played its last game in 2014, and Wichita State was clearly the best hope for #TMM to “end in a win.”
So the Shockers’ loss in a second-round thriller to regular-season underachiever and eventual Final Four team Kentucky, a.k.a. the most talented 8-seed ever, was one of the more heartbreaking of the #GiantBracket era.
![IMG_1099](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097533773_5153e9d165_c.jpg)
![IMG_1103](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097529833_ac8007f27b_c.jpg)
With Wichita out, the #GiantBracket’s lonely eyes looked to Dayton:
![IMG_1087](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097084472_b16a4f11a6_c.jpg)
But alas, it ended — as always — in a loss.
![IMG_1325](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097083977_d2198d9663_c.jpg)
![IMG_4283](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089907406_40070a979a_c.jpg)
2015
I don’t have as much to say about 2015, but here’s that year’s final bracket:
![IMG_5007](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089993372_c00f79aae2_c.jpg)
2016
The most memorable bit of the #GiantBracket in 2016 was the bipolar ride of Northern Iowa. First, exquisite joy:
And then, unfathomable sadness:
The final bracket:
![IMG_1080](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090714830_51f92b0bf1_c.jpg)
2016 also saw another very colorful #GiantBracket for the women’s tournament:
![IMG_9683](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090714580_d275e69d8e_c.jpg)
![IMG_9685-2](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090714360_fa31d97a49_c.jpg)
2017
In 2017, the #GiantBracket left Colorado for the first time, as we were on spring break in Puerto Rico during the tournament’s second weekend. So I rolled it up, brought it on the plane with us….
![IMG_5633](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097630503_57791d6fd6_c.jpg)
![IMG_6086](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097184322_5daff17a4b_c.jpg)
We were back home in time for the Final Four, and Gonzaga’s first championship game appearance.
![IMG_6815](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089934541_be64bafeec_c.jpg)
![IMG_9155](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090476513_f20beceb30_c.jpg)
But alas…
![IMG_6830](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089934746_1531b8c98e_c.jpg)
![IMG_5982](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090741605_691b5585f3_c.jpg)
2018
This was probably the most memorable #GiantBracket of all-time, and if you remember what happened in the first round that year, you know why.
And then the #GiantBracket boarded an airplane again (for Final Four weekend this time), to Mexico.
![Imported 2018-04-21](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090714250_ccca035d62_b.jpg)
![Imported 2018-04-21](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51097199364_c26ab01bc0_b.jpg)
Also, I was so damn excited about the Notre Dame women’s buzzer-beating national title, it, uh, sort of took over the championship line on the men’s bracket… 🙂
![IMG_1286](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51089906491_0b21acfe8c_c.jpg)
2019
Like 2015, the 2019 #GiantBracket was a comparatively boring one, so I’ll just post the final bracket:
![IMG_1919](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090713970_ed1c3cb1fa_c.jpg)
2020
This, of course, was the saddest #GiantBracket ever.
Last in the evening on March 9, realizing that the tourney was in jeopardy, I made this whiteboard:
And then on March 12…
![Imported 2020-03-21](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51090020192_62bfe3fa22_c.jpg)
2021
This year, I debuted the #GiantWallOfBrackets for the conference tournaments:
And then…