Inflatable Mania 2014 is in full swing after a wild opening round where thousands of fans flooded the polls and the free response sections to give us our final field of 32 teams.
Like last year, we have a regional breakdown for this contest to help give teams an equal shot at advancing into the Sweet 16, Elite 8, Final Four and ultimately into the championship round of blow-up tunnel immortality.
Some of the regular big names are back in business including reigning champions Wylie, Euless Trinity and Red Oak, and a few new names are in the fold.
Here is the bracket breakdown for Inflatable Mania 2014. Seeding was determined by fan votes and response during the first week of the contest, with the top four overall vote-getters landing the four regional seeds. We will host weekly votes through the end of the regular football season.
NORTHERN REGION
1 – Wylie
2 – Flower Mound
3 – Allen
4 – Prosper
5 – Mesquite Poteet
6 – Birdville
7 – McKinney
8 – McKinney Boyd
NOTES: Wylie, last year’s reigning champion and the top vote-getter in our opening fan selection is back with a No. 1 overall seed. Other surprises in here include the strange inclusion of Mesquite Poteet’s pirate galleon, but in order to balance the seeds, some teams were moved from their geographic home. Expect a tough fight from the 7-seed McKinney Lions and Prosper’s ever-present Eagle fan base.
WESTERN REGION
1 – Arlington
2 – Euless Trinity
3 – Arlington Lamar
4 – Southlake Carroll
5 – Corsicana
6 – Ennis
7 – Grapevine
8 – Lovejoy
NOTES: The first of our write-in candidates for the 2014 contest is Lovejoy, a relatively new school that had fans filling the “other” box during the initial poll. Expect a deep run by Euless Trinity.
EASTERN REGION
1 – North Garland
2 – Red Oak
3 – Mesquite
4 – Frisco
5 – Rowlett
6 – Flower Mound Marcus
7 – Mesquite Horn
8 – Greenville
NOTES: Greenville could very well be the opening round sleeper from this side of the bracket. Rowlett, a traditional power only managed at 5 seed, while Mesquite, one of last year’s early 1-seeds fell to a No. 3.
SOUTHERN REGION
1 – Garland
2 – Arlington Bowie
3 – South Grand Prairie
4 – McKinney North
5 – Duncanville
6 – Midlothian
7 – Denton Guyer
8 – Adamson
NOTES: The southern region contains a fun blend of the Best Southwest with teams like Duncanville and Adamson and Midlothian while also throwing in one of the traditional Dallas County powers in Garland.
VOTING SCHEDULE:
Week 1: Oct. 2-9 – Fans pick up to 15 inflatables each making a field of 24
Week 2: Oct. 9-16 – Elimination and seeding to create the Sweet 16.
Week 3: Oct. 16-23 – Voting to whittle down the regions into the Elite 8
Week 4: Oct. 23-30 – Voting to create the Final Four
Week 5: Oct. 30-Nov. 6 – Finding the Finalists
Week 6: Nov. 6-Nov. 14 – Reveal the Champions