What an opening round of the Most Influential American Tournament!!! Somewhere NCAA broadcaster Gus Johnson is sitting back smiling as Underdogs ruled the day. 12 higher seeds advanced to the second round of the tournament and the presidential bracket was the most upset filled as the favorites won four match ups and the underdogs won four. There was no bigger upset than Lyndon B. Johnson knocking off OVERALL #1 Seed Abraham Lincoln by one vote. LBJ was quoted as saying, "I may be more proud of this accomplishment than I was when I passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964." Other upset winners were #9 seed Harry Truman knocking off #8 Teddy Roosevelt in a bit of a shocker. 10 Seed John Kennedy defeated 7 seed James Madison and #12 Seed Dwight Eisenhower stormed the beaches of Ronald Reagan to knock off the #5 seed. Favorites that survived and advanced were Thomas Jefferson over Bill Clinton; Franklin Roosevelt over James Polk; Woodrow Wilson over Barack Obama and George Washington over James Monroe.
The Innovators bracket had some normalcy to it as only two underdogs were victorious. Though upset winners, the victors were not much of a surprise with the tech-savvy voters. In another 7-10 seed upset, Bill Gates knocked off Eli Whitney and #11 Seed Steve Jobs defeated #6 Jonas Salk. There should be some great second round match ups as Alexander Graham Bell will look to avoid a bomb by Robert Oppenheimer. Henry Ford and Ben Franklin will do battle in a match up that promises to be electric (get it!). Steve Jobs will try to keep the Wright Brothers from taking flight and Bill Gates will match wits with Thomas Edison. The Innovators bracket promises to be a thrilling ride through the next several rounds.
The Wildcard round was pretty wild to say the least as #12 Dr. Benjamin Spock defeated #5 Alexander Hamilton. Afterwards, Spock was quoted as saying "it was like taking candy from a baby...and you should not give candy to a baby! That is in chapter 3 of my book!". Walt Disney was magical in an upset win vs. William Howard Taft and Muhammed Ali knocked out Henry Clay with a solid combination of boxing prowess and social activism. #1 seed Lewis and Clark dominated Sam Walton while Mark Twain outraced Jesse Owens in an 8-9 match up. Neil Armstrong defeated Steven Spielberg and Armstrong was quoted as saying "this is one small step for man...but one GIANT step for Me!! On to the round of 32!" U.S. Grant knocked off Elvis Presley to the disappointment of any one who was a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s. #2 Seed George Patton rolled over Oprah Winfrey like he was leading Allied Troops through France in World War II.
In the Social Activists division, Martin Luther King was the highest vote getter in the first round as he defeated filmmaker Michael Moore. Samuel Gompers scored a victory for unions with a win over WEB DuBois. Thurgood Marshall knocked off Jane Addams. Scoring a victory for the women was Eleanor Roosevelt in a victory over educational leader Horace Mann. Jackie Robinson ran right by Earl Warren in a mild upset. Susan B. Anthony defeated Ralph Nader and Cesar Chavez upset Elizabeth Cady Stanton. #2 Seed Frederick Douglass was victorious over Upton Sinclair in the final matchup of the opening round.
More excitement is on the horizon in the Round of 32. Stay tuned!!!
The Innovators bracket had some normalcy to it as only two underdogs were victorious. Though upset winners, the victors were not much of a surprise with the tech-savvy voters. In another 7-10 seed upset, Bill Gates knocked off Eli Whitney and #11 Seed Steve Jobs defeated #6 Jonas Salk. There should be some great second round match ups as Alexander Graham Bell will look to avoid a bomb by Robert Oppenheimer. Henry Ford and Ben Franklin will do battle in a match up that promises to be electric (get it!). Steve Jobs will try to keep the Wright Brothers from taking flight and Bill Gates will match wits with Thomas Edison. The Innovators bracket promises to be a thrilling ride through the next several rounds.
The Wildcard round was pretty wild to say the least as #12 Dr. Benjamin Spock defeated #5 Alexander Hamilton. Afterwards, Spock was quoted as saying "it was like taking candy from a baby...and you should not give candy to a baby! That is in chapter 3 of my book!". Walt Disney was magical in an upset win vs. William Howard Taft and Muhammed Ali knocked out Henry Clay with a solid combination of boxing prowess and social activism. #1 seed Lewis and Clark dominated Sam Walton while Mark Twain outraced Jesse Owens in an 8-9 match up. Neil Armstrong defeated Steven Spielberg and Armstrong was quoted as saying "this is one small step for man...but one GIANT step for Me!! On to the round of 32!" U.S. Grant knocked off Elvis Presley to the disappointment of any one who was a teenager in the 1950s and 1960s. #2 Seed George Patton rolled over Oprah Winfrey like he was leading Allied Troops through France in World War II.
In the Social Activists division, Martin Luther King was the highest vote getter in the first round as he defeated filmmaker Michael Moore. Samuel Gompers scored a victory for unions with a win over WEB DuBois. Thurgood Marshall knocked off Jane Addams. Scoring a victory for the women was Eleanor Roosevelt in a victory over educational leader Horace Mann. Jackie Robinson ran right by Earl Warren in a mild upset. Susan B. Anthony defeated Ralph Nader and Cesar Chavez upset Elizabeth Cady Stanton. #2 Seed Frederick Douglass was victorious over Upton Sinclair in the final matchup of the opening round.
More excitement is on the horizon in the Round of 32. Stay tuned!!!