There’s a tradition in Twitter Madness Tournament play to not talk about the next step until you’ve climbed the one in front of you. I’m sure going to the Sweet 16 is beyond your wildest dreams, so let’s just keep it right there.
Forget about the 140 character limit, the size of their Klout score, their fancy avatars, and remember what got you here. Focus on the fundamentals that we’ve gone over time and time again.
And most important, don’t get caught up thinking about winning or losing this Tourney. If you put your effort and concentration into Tweeting to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we’re gonna be winners!
But enough with plagiarizing motivation speeches from Hoosiers and on the Elite 8 Wrap-up

Feature Match-up: @TheFakeESPN v. @unmarketing

Let’s get this out of the way right now, if you are a sports fan with a little bit of cynicism then you have to follow @TheFakeESPN. If you’re just a sports fan, then you have to follow @TheFakeESPN. If your neither a sports fan nor cynical than why the Hell are you even reading this…go to wherever non-cynical non-sports fans go…probably @Oprah

As usual @TheFakeESPN served up a bevy of great fake sports content which is awesome and all but there’s something missing…you know… that engagement stuff…

I mean c’mon man, you have 410,080 followers but only follow 49 Twitter accounts?  According to the @deanshaw “WhatAreYouTooGoodForUs” index, @TheFakeESPN scores an embarrassing 8,389.

As for @unmarketing, his “WhatAreYouTooGoodForUs” index is 4.1.  But what about content? Well let’s see what we learned about @unmarketing during this match-up:

1. He thinks “We Care a Lot” by Faith No More is one of the greatest songs of his generation.  Now, if “his generation” is limited to that one Tuesday back in 1987 then I can probably agree with him.  Other than that, All I can say is ‘We Care a Lot” isn’t even the greatest song by Faith No More.  That honor goes to “Epic”…

1. He’s down with The Shawshank Redemption
2. He’s a Blue Jays fan
3. He understands the impact “The” Gretzky trade had to all of Canada
4. He clearly understands the importance of the Twitter Madness Tourney

Winner: @unmarketing

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A now for the rest of the Elite 8 Match-ups…

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@GinaMcCrae v. @jowyang:

First there was “The Drive”

Then there was “The Fumble”

And now there is another epic fail to add to Cleveland sports lore – The Twumble….or is it the The Twive…oh, I don’t know, but it’s epic!!!

@GinaMcCrae acknowledged her opponent as she has done successfully throughout the Tourney…you know engaging them and all that stuff you’re supposed to do on social media.  But her words were prophetic, and a nod to the black cloud the permanently hangs over Cleveland’s sports landscape

And so it was, she made the fatal mistake of looking back at her most recently dispatched opponent @frankreed with  a little Bing bashing.

Sadly, I tried looking up “What are the chances of @GinaMcCrae winning this match by looking backward not forwards?” on Bing and I couldn’t find it in the results.

While all this went on @jowyang was his normal workmanlike self, offering a summary of Google’s lame April Fool’s Day pranks and a spreadsheet showing how much time is spent sleeping and working, reminding me of how pathetic my life is. This time around it was enough to dispatch of his rookie rival.

So we must say goodbye to this year’s Cinderella story and let her get back to Cleveland where, if my memory serves me well, probably has a depressing black cloud hanging over it.

Winner: @jowyang

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@JustinKownacki v. @SocialMedia411:

During the course of this year’s Twitter Madness Tourney, @SocialMedia has been the class of the field and seemingly this year’s anointed one.  Like Old Faithful , they offered an endless stream of “things that don’t suck”.  From Instagram and Facebook, to Twitter and Vine, if you’re looking for kiss-ass info on social media, this is the only Twitter handle you need to follow

As for @JustinKownacki,  he had music on his mind with nods to Green Day, Notorious B.I.G, Ice Cube and George Clinton  all while questioning the diagnosis of ADHD and crappy PIXAR sequels.  Paraphrasing Forrest Gump – He’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.  But where he scored massive points was on this gem:

No worries, @JustinKownacki because you will now also be tormented with “Ghost of Final Four Present”

Winner: @JustinKownacki

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@kaimac v. @AndyBeal:

In a re-match of last year’s Elite 8 match-up, @kaimac and @AndyBeal once again locked horns to see who would advance to the Final Four.  Last year’s match was a barn-burner and ultimately decided by a series of opportunistic tweets by @kaimac that covered “The Big Three”:  Beer, potatoes, and pie.  @AndyBeal was unable to recover from this brilliant onslaught and was left to utter a string of internet acronyms. It was SOL for @AndyBeal

But that was then and this is now.

Best I could tell @kaimac had two things on his mind: April Fool’s Day and his distrust of Internet reviews.  I don’t know no about the accuracy of all online reviews but I do know that the Select Inn in Minot, ND is the worst hotel on the planet.

As for @AndyBeal, perhaps out of a sense of desperation he was unusually nice to me….and my Mom

But then got back to the sarcastic Andy I know and love…

But then went back to “nice” Andy

It was all very confusing to me, but in the end, surprisingly effective.

Winner: @AndyBeal

So the Field of Four is set!  Let’s get it on!

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To check out the brackets go to @deanshaw Twitter Madness 2013 Brackets

For more info on the tourney check out my 2013 Twitter Madness Tourney Page