The sweet spot in a N.C. politician’s March Madness bracket
The point isn’t to win the pool. It’s to show a little North Carolina pride.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I love it when political figures release March Madness brackets.
I thought it was fun when President Barack Obama turned it into a tradition, and I still enjoy it now. It’s a fun little glimpse of personality. But of course it’s also political.
Gov. Josh Stein and former Gov. Roy Cooper, now running for U.S. Senate, both went through the exercise this year. And both of their brackets were bad enough to require comment.
The mistake was treating this like a points contest. That’s not what a public bracket is for. Nobody cares whether the governor can outsmart America in the round of 32. The point is to be fun, a little relatable, and at least somewhat rooted in the state you govern.
You don’t have to turn in a parody and send every North Carolina team to the Final Four. But you should give the home teams a little extra juice.
That’s the sweet spot. Good enough to look credible. Booster enough to befit the chief salesman of the state of North Carolina. In general, the right move is to pick each North Carolina team to go about one round farther than it probably should.
High Point is the easiest example. If you’re a North Carolina political figure filling out a public bracket and you see a 12 seed from your own state, you just take the 5-12 upset and keep it moving. Everybody knows there’s going to be one somewhere.
Instead, both Stein and Cooper picked High Point to lose to Wisconsin. And of course High Point won.
That’s exactly the kind of pick a North Carolina governor is supposed to make.
Cooper at least explained himself. “When I do these brackets, I am not a homer,” he said in a video he posted to X.
I get it. Nobody wants to look silly. But this is one area where being a little bit of a homer is not only allowed, it’s probably wise.
Stein had an even rougher moment. In his bracket video, after he put Michigan State and Michigan in the Final Four but left out Duke, even the host stepped in.
“You’re going to be able to run again in three years. Are you trying to tell us you’re moving somewhere?” she asked. “Like what is up with the state of Michigan love?”
Fair question.
There ought to be a few basic rules here.
If a North Carolina team is seeded 1 through 4, it should probably win it all. Final Four at a minimum.
If a North Carolina team is a 12 seed, you have to take the upset.
Most importantly, don’t try to show off with your bracketology.
The point of a political March Madness bracket is not to be perfect. It’s to look like you’re from North Carolina.
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Power is hard to win, but often harder to surrender. In my latest newspaper column, I look back at the example of former House Speaker Liston Ramsey to make sense of Phil Berger’s current moment. Knowing how to leave matters just as much as knowing how to lead.
Read free with gift link: The hardest part is letting go, Phil Berger. But it’s time.
Question of the week
Last week, I asked you which job was better: state senator, or state party chair. More than 70% of you said senator, and I think that’s right.