Young enthusiasts across the United States are demonstrating unique approaches to selecting winners in the annual NCAA basketball tournaments. Children, who may not even follow the sport regularly, are using imaginative criteria such as mascots, team colors, and fun-sounding names to fill out their brackets. This unconventional method has occasionally led to surprising successes that rival or even surpass those of adults.

One remarkable example is 13-year-old Maleah Legg from North Carolina, who consistently beats her sports-savvy father in bracket challenges. Despite having no background in basketball, Maleah employs a simple yet effective strategy: choosing teams based on their mascots, colors, or numerical rankings. Her father, Ryan Pritt, admits that his daughter's luck often trumps his expertise, leading to memorable moments like bets involving sushi meals and car washes. Meanwhile, in New Jersey, Jaime Cohen's young sons rely on their favorite hues—blue and red—to make their picks, with astonishing results. The combination of skill and chance creates an engaging learning experience for these children while strengthening family bonds.

The joy of participating in March Madness isn't limited to predicting men's games; many families extend the tradition by including women's brackets as well. Conz Preti from Portland involves her children by associating team success with preferred colors, making each game victory a celebratory moment at home. Such activities encourage kids to explore beyond traditional methods, incorporating creativity into what could otherwise be a purely analytical process. Ultimately, whether through colorful logos or playful mascots, these youngsters remind everyone that sometimes embracing unpredictability leads to the most rewarding experiences—a lesson applicable far beyond the world of sports.