DALLAS, TX – Just because we’re a bunch of pickleball fanatics at Pickleball Inc. HQ doesn’t mean we’re only paying attention to America's fastest-growing sport.

Of course we recognize that March Madness is in full swing. Just like the Veolia Austin Open, there are upsets and suprises from time to time, with teams shaking up the brackets. To make things interesting in the office, an NCAA Men’s and Women’s Bracket Challenge is ongoing to determine which employee's selections will reign supreme.

The University of Connecticut is the clear favorite to win it all. Twenty-five percent of the workers chose the Huskies to hoist the trophy in early April. The University of Houston is a close second in this department at 20%, though that may be because we’ve got some passionate UH alums in the office.

While we may have a pickleball court in the office, we also have dozens of TVs constantly showing event footage and matches. On tournament days, we have PickleballTV and the YouTube live stream on a constant loop to follow tournaments.

But, we’ve got a two-week gap until the Fanatics Sportsbook North Carolina Cup, so pickleball has been temporarily replaced with basketball for now.

Starting on Thursday, Mar. 21, the office TVs were dedicated solely to the Round of 64 matchups as the Bracket Challenge got underway.

At lunch, the massive screens that are usually the backdrop for the Draw Reveal Shows with Dave Fleming displayed the Michigan State versus Mississippi State game. Then, a lot of us watched our brackets crumble when BYU fell to Duquesne 71-67.

As a collective, we may be pretty good at working with pickleball brackets, but college basketball isn't our forte. 

Just don’t look at my bracket because I picked winners based solely on randomness, colors, and school logos.

Either way, the joy of competition is sweeping the office and we’ll see who comes out on top.