March Madness: THE NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!

Well, it's been a month of thrilling victories and agonizing defeats on the long road from from the regional openers through the sweet sixteen and the final four to our final matchup between upstart 47th state New Mexico and old-school colonial Maryland; between the fifth-largest state in the union and the state with the fifth largest population density.

And for this round only, I'll do something I haven't done in all the rest of the tournament. I'll vote myself.


So here's my vote for the best flag of the U.S. States and Territories!

South Carolina

Unfortunately, all y'all didn't even let it into the Elite Eight, so I guess I'll do like everybody else and cast my vote from the choices I have available.

Maryland!

But that's just my vote!

So, with no further ado....

the winner of the March Madness U.S. States and Territories Flag Tournament is......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

New Mexico defeats Maryland, 21 - 13!!!




Congratulations to the good folks of New Mexico and thanks to everybody who played along with my goofy little project.  Here's one last look at the bracket.  Hope you had a great March!

March Madness: The National Championship Match

It's been a month of flaggy heartbreak as the field of 56 flags of U.S. States and Territories has gradually been winnowed down to two. And today, they go head to head.

Our contestants for the national title are 1) New Mexico, which took out Ohio easily in the semi-final matchup, 20-5.  2) Maryland, which survived a tough fight against Tennessee to come out on top, 14-11.

They're bright!  They're vivid!  And they're going to the mat.  Votes will be counted at 6 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, March 30.




New Mexico

Maryland

Place your votes in the comments!

March Madness: National Semifinals

March Madness: National Semifinals

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Final.



North and West Finals Voting Deadline: 9 a.m. PDT, Sunday, March 27.




North Champion vs. West Champion



Ohio vs. New Mexico

Ohio

New Mexico

East Champion vs. South Champion

Maryland vs. Tennessee

Maryland

Tennessee

Make your votes in the comments.

The Final Four Verbiage

...and then there were four, as the 2011 tournament winds down to its final few games.  Upsets abounded in the regional finals, all of which were highly competitive among L&TM5K voters but decided but near unanimity among Vexillophiliacs.  The only #1 seed still standing is Maryland, which knocked down the District of Columbia 17-10; Maryland will take on #5 seed Tennessee, which upset #2 Puerto Rico by the same score.

In both the North and West, #1 seeds fell to #2, with New Mexico besting Alaska 18-8 and Ohio topping Wyoming 17-9.  Tennessee is the only fly still flying, however, which was playing on opening day; New Mexico, Ohio, and Maryland all entered the tournament with a bye-week.

March Madness: North and West Finals!!!

March Madness: North and West Finals!!!

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Final.



North and West Finals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, TOMMOROW, Wednesday, March 23.
South and East Finals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, TODAY Tuesday, March 22.




North Final



Wyoming vs. Ohio 

Wyoming

Ohio

West Final



Alaska vs. New Mexico

Alaska

New Mexico

Make your votes in the comments.

Then Everything Changed

I am a big fan of the "Alternate History" genre of fiction: stories about "what if". For more info about alternate history books, check out Uchronia.

I am currently reading Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan, by Jeff Greenfield. What if JFK did not survive to his inauguration? What if RFK did? How would history have turned out differently? For more, see this New York Times review.

Of course, the reason it is featured here is the interesting flag graphic on the cover, with the stripes on the American flag veering off in unforeseen directions.

March Madness: South and East Finals!!!

March Madness: South and East Finals!!!

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Final Four.

South and East Finals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, TOMORROW, Tuesday, March 22.




East Final



Maryland vs. District of Columbia

Maryland

District of Columbia

South Final


Tennessee vs. Puerto Rico

Tennessee

Puerto Rico

Make your votes in the comments.

March Madness Semifinal Results!

East

#1 Maryland 19, #4 Massachusetts 5
#3 D.C. 18, #2 Rhode Island 6

South

#5 Tennessee 13, #1 South Carolina 11 (Upset!!)
#2 Puerto Rico 19, #3 Texas 5

North

#1 Wyoming 19, #5 Iowa 7
#2 Ohio 15, #3 Indiana 11

West

#1 Alaska 16, #4 Hawaii 10
#2 New Mexico 20, #3 Arizona 5

March Madness: North and West Semifinals

March Madness: North and West Semifinals!!!

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Sweet Sixteen.



North and West Semifinals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Sunday, March 20.
South and East Semifinals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Saturday, March 19.




North



Wyoming vs. Iowa

Wyoming

Iowa

Indiana vs. Ohio

Indiana

Ohio

West



Alaska vs. Hawaii

Alaska

Hawaii

Arizona vs. New Mexico

Arizona

New Mexico

Make your votes in the comments.

March Madness: South and East Semifinals

March Madness: South and East Semifinals!!!

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

South and East Semifinals Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Saturday, March 19.




East



Maryland vs. Massachusetts

Maryland

Massachusetts

District of Columbia vs. Rhode Island

District of Columbia

Rhode Island

South



South Carolina vs. Tennessee

South Carolina

Tennessee

Texas vs. Puerto Rico

Texas

Puerto Rico

Make your votes in the comments.

March Madness: North and West Second Round Results

NORTH

Second round drubbings continued in the North and West divisions, with only the contests between fourth and fifth seeds conjuring up anything like suspense. Third seed Indiana led the onslaught against hapless Nebraska with a punishing 25-1 score. First seed Wyoming's 24-2 rout of Michigan and Ohio's 22-4 runup on Montana represent a combined referendum of 71-7 against the last three seal-on-blue flags left in the tourney.

Missouri's bears stayed within reach of Iowa's eagle, but could never quite close the margin; the fourth-seed horizontal tricolor state eventually fell to the Hawkeye State, 15-11.

WEST

The first and second seeds in the powerful West division announced their presence with authority, with #1 Alaska trampling on the Northern Marianas 25-1 and #2 New Mexico mounting a decisive 21-5 victory over popular California; by all appearences, California's flag is the first that a large number of voters feel genuinely sorry to see leaving the contest.

Things were a little more interesting in the middle rungs, where sixth seed Colorado kept it respectable, garnering nine votes to put up against Arizona's seventeen. Washington and Hawaii, meanwhile, were too close to call until the final bell; when the smoke cleared, Hawaii's banner emerged on top, 15-11. The West semifinals will therefore feature contests among the four most recent states to join the American union -- although not by any means, however, the four most recent flag designs. Action resumes Thursday!

March Madness: The Sweet Sixteen

The Sweet Sixteen is now in place.

As a number of people have pointed out, this has not been a tournament for drama thus far.  What is a ball without a Cinderella story?  And yet no flag with deeper than a fifth seed has survived the first two rounds.  To a certain, very limited extent, this is due to the vagaries of the brackets and the seeding order, both determined (were you wondering?) in a highly informal process as I was relaxing on the couch on Christmas afternoon.

Much more so, it is because most of the flags of the American states and territories, to a greater or lesser extent, stink.  All we have really done so far is winnow out the worst of the batch.  There are a few possible exceptions: a flag I like better than y'all do (Louisiana) and one y'all might have liked a whole lot better than I do (American Samoa); at least one pretty good one that got squeezed out (Cal) and at least one that is in, but very likely doomed (but I would not want to openly predict the vote).

We're left with sixteen contenders, and my guess is that we'll start to see closer votes and tougher choices.  After all: there can only be four regional champions, and only one winner overall.  Semifinals for East and South will open simultaneously on Thursday; semifinals for West and North will open on Friday.  L&TM5K readers can "enjoy" a short burst of more conventional content; Vexillophiliacs can stay up late Monday to see who will come out on top in the Hawaii/Washington showdown.

Happy Daylight Savings Time in participating locations!

March Madness: East and South Second-Round Results

West Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Monday, March 14.

North Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, TONIGHT, Sunday, March 13.

EAST

The top four seeded flags in the East division galloped into the Sweet Sixteen over the course of the week, with three outright routs. Maryland found more love than hate, beating up on New Hampshire 25-6, while favorites Rhode Island and DC each ran up a score of 27-4 against Connecticut and Virginia, respectively. The only real contest was in 5th-seed Delaware's contest with 4th-seed Mass, with the Bay State coming out on top by a slim 17-14 margin.

SOUTH

There was even less suspense in the South division, none of the matchups were even close. Third-seed Texas destroyed North Carolina with a unanimous 26-0, setting up another red, white, and blue showdown for second-seed Puerto Rico, which disposed of Arkansas 24-2.

Elsewhere in the South, third-seed South Carolina beat up on Alabama, 22-4. This sets up an interesting showdown with fifth-seed Tennessee, which blew by the pelicans of Louisiana with a decisive 21-5 vote.

March Madness: West Regional, Round 2

March Madness: Round Two of the West Regional Division of the U.S. States and Territories Flag Tournament!!!

The Bracket

The Rules: For each of the pairs of flags pitted against each other, indicate your favorite.  Explication, derision, and/or analysis will not affect the scoring, but is nevertheless encouraged.  Each winner will advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

West Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Monday, March 14.

North Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PDT, Sunday, March 13.

South Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PST, Sat., March 12.

East Regional Voting Deadline: 9 p.m. PST, TONIGHT -- Friday, March 11.

Alaska vs. Northern Marianas

Alaska

Northern Marianas

Washington vs. Hawaii

Washington

Hawaii

Arizona vs. Colorado

Arizona

Colorado

California vs. New Mexico

California

New Mexico

Make your votes in the comments.