An upset-filled day of unexpected joys can be ruined, or at least diminished, by busted brackets. Oh boo hoo, I'm so sad because I picked Georgetown to go to the Elite Eight. All of these problems can be eliminated if they take my advice and don't fill one out at all. When one watches the NCAA Tournament with clear eyes and flexible rooting interests, without constantly checking to see if you're about to lose a share of $125 in the office pool, this is a much more rewarding and memorable experience. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Hoopsputin.

I understand that bracket-picking is a very important part of this process, and that March Madness would not be as important as it is without casual fans. If we were playing these games in front of the same number of people who were watching back in December, then there wouldn't be the anticipation, the excitement, the larger-than-life feeling this all has. All I want is market share. If just a few people come to our side, that's all that matters.

And among the millions of filled-out brackets, we have nine entries to our First Annual As-You-Go Bracket contest. The prize is roundtrip airfare for two to Indianapolis, the capital of Hoops Nation, and double-occupancy lodging at the site's headquarters (the gracefully fading Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Airport) for the Mid-Majority Season 7 Symposium in late summer. And that's plenty of entries enough, because it's a whole lot of JPG images to wrangle.

Here are your entries, and they are all amazing and wonderful and creative. Not to mention breathtakingly awesome. Because of that, we'd like to announce a change to the rules: I will not be able to decide, so we will put this to public vote (which will take place when the Epilogue is posted; winner will be announced on Twitter and in the site top bar). Remember that all entrants must provide a picture at the end of every round, until the last mid-major team is eliminated.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- I have a bobblehead doll of Bryce Drew releasing The Shot that beat Ole Miss in 1998, and a picture on my wall of Northwestern State's Jermaine Wallace uncorking the three-pointer that eliminated Iowa in 2006. I'll admit that I have to think for a minute to remember the names of their teammates, or which year it was, or what seed they were. As time passes, those details are more difficult to recall. The single symbol always replaces its context, as well as its meaning, as well as how it felt inside that moment.

In time, the games will fade from memory, leaving just traces behind: numbers and grids stacked in databases, trivia questions, paint-by-numbers feature stories with "stun" in the headlines, single spliced video moments edited into a grouped reel. Two hours will be distilled into two seconds. There was a Shot, or a demonstrative hug, or a happy blur of purple or green or yellow, and that's all that'll remind people that something happened, something important and powerful enough that the rush of adrenaline helped push some of the poison from our souls. A little thing beat a big thing, and such moments are still possible in a world like this.

There were six teams that survived Thursday that probably shouldn't have, whether it was because they were overmatched, overlooked or just underfinanced. Each victory stands for the idea that big things aren't necessarily best, and that drive and hunger and hope are still viable vessels for dreams. That's a deeply important message, one that goes all the way back to the Bible, and it resonates not only in Hoops Nation but across the entire country. It's why a lot of fans show up to join us in March, because they need this reminder of why and how America came about in the first place.

Due to unpopular demand, we are holding one-hour Chat Blocks every day this week. Here's the schedule (all times EDT): Monday at 3 pm, Tuesday at 2 pm, Wednesday at 1 pm, Thursday at 5 pm and Friday at 5 pm.

Thursday's Chat Block will be at 6 pm EDT because of the spillover length of the RMU-Villanova game.