Definitely using their powers for good (this time, at least)

So hey, here's a topic unrelated to the current messed-up COVID situation, for once--something that provided me abundant entertainment over the past week, which I thought I'd share for your amusement as well. Background: obviously Derek has been cut loose from college for the duration of the global health crisis, so he's at home with fewer academic demands and thus more empty free time. Add to that the absence of all sports and, well, you have a situation ripe for boredom...or ingenuity.

So, he and a buddy (we'll just call him G) got the idea to collaborate on a Spotify playlist that they could then offer up to the rest of their friend group. The theme...Disney songs. And then, as D and G discussed the relative merits and/or drawbacks of each possibility, it dawned on them that this could grow into something even bigger...leading them to create their own substitute for the NCAA basketball tournament that won't be taking place this year.

They called it March Magic, and replaced the hoops teams with those Disney ditties I mentioned. The way I understand the steps: first they debated which tunes to include in the field of 64. Then they separated them into 4 "quads" of 16 songs, which they sorted from top to bottom. Next they divided them into the geographic regions...and let a computer finish assigning the final rankings, to introduce an element of randomization to the proceedings. Finally, they calculated the odds for each matchup...like they were some kind of big-time Vegas betting operation, or something. (Because their cute little project had blown up by this point, with people taking it much more seriously than its humble beginnings would seem to warrant--and the boys had gleefully picked up the ball...and were running with it...)

By now I'd been oriented to what was happening, because Derek couldn't contain his enthusiasm for what they were crafting, and wanted to share it with someone who'd appreciate the effort. And I've gotta say...I was somewhat in awe of the whole thing. From the original concept, to the amount of work involved, the level of detail and commitment, the complicated and multi-layered analysis required...heck, even the MATH was impressive! (That Statistics class paying dividends, baby! You love to see it...)

After all the hours of prep and "Committee Meetings" (I'm not even kidding, that's what they called it when D and G video chatted with each other. It was freakin' adorable...)...they went live with the voting, on Instagram. And you know what? When I saw the final version, I found myself with some VERY strong opinions. (Which surprises absolutely no one...including me...) For example, I had...thoughts...about some of the selections...seedings...and head-to-head battles that were set up between a mixture of very iconic...somewhat worthy...or downright forgettable musical numbers. In short, I knew I had to get in on this thing.

So I requested to follow G, and began the routine of checking every day for the results, and the opportunity to choose the next round's winners. It didn't take long at all for me to realize that in many cases I...profoundly disagreed with the rest of the participants. (I MAY have been heard yelling "I. Am. INCENSED!" at one...or more...junctures during the contests. And I make no apologies for that...) Fortunately, I live with 1/2 of the Committee, so I was able to express my displeasure (to his grinning face, as he reveled in the controversy he'd helped cause. Brat.) on a daily basis. A sample of my...concerns...includes:

--How could people NOT  vote for Frozen I and II? These are arguably among the best songs ever written for Disney, so what, exactly, is wrong with this demographic, that they don't understand, or don't accept, this point of view, which is clearly the only correct one (and also incidentally, "mine")?
--Life is a Highway? Reeeeallly? It's Rascal Flatts covering Tom Cochrane, for crying out loud, not a Disney masterpiece in any way, shape, or form!.
--Of all the stellar options from Lion King...Hakuna Matata? Sure, it's funny, and catchy, and cute. But it is by no means the best composition on that soundtrack, so WHY ARE YOU ALL PICKING IT TO WIN?
--And while we're at it, what the WHAT with Mulan? I mean, it's a perfectly fine film and all, but the music? Totally unmemorable, as far as I'm concerned. As I explained it to D, if I see the title on the page, and I can't immediately hear it playing in my head (with me singing along, obvs), I just can't bring myself to move it along in the tournament. While Hercules, on the other hand, boasts a soundtrack stacked with quality offerings, many of which didn't make the cut, and none of the ones that did performed particularly well.
--Oh, and that reminds me of another possibly unpopular notion about which I refuse to be swayed: Tangled is one of the most underrated Disney flicks of all time. It could have had several other representatives in the competition, rather than the token one that made it--which again, isn't even the top choice from the movie.

Aaaannnyway, despite my...disgruntlement with people's poor decisions...it was fascinating to be an insider in this whole endeavor. For starters, I was privy to the breaking news in terms of voting trends, upset alerts, unexpected outcomes, and early reporting of results. But I also had unparalleled access to my own analyst, with whom, it turned out, I could engage in deeply philosophical discussions about topics like how a song was "thematically important" and therefore of higher value than one that "didn't contribute to character development". (Not exaggerating. It got intense up in here, guys...) At one point I even remember exclaiming something along the lines of, "Sure, When I'm Older is an awesome Olaf scene, but Show Yourself is Elsa trying to figure out who she's supposed to be...it's the emotional center of the film!" (And then we paused...and howled, because we're passionately pouring ourselves into...critiquing cartoons, y'all. Eh, this probably counts for Remote Learning in some manner of speaking, right? Yeah, let's go with that...)

When the dust settled, the overall #1 seed, as identified by D and G waaay back in the beginning, did end up being crowned champion. I, of course, took exception to...pretty much the entire sequence of how this all played out, so in a moment of inspiration, Derek suggested I fill out my own bracket, choosing exactly the way I wanted, to see what would happen. And I'm not gonna lie, there were some tough picks to be made along the way, and some heartbreaking losses (metaphorically of course, because...mermaids and magical princesses and demigods and talking animals and whatnot). But in the end, I have to admit it was extremely satisfying to be the sole judge, in charge of every conquest or defeat, and to raise my own victor to the podium. In completely predictable fashion--unlike what actually transpired when the "public" was invited to join--the prize went to a gorgeous, stirring, anthemic, critically meaningful little number from...Frozen II.

This whole shebang provided so much enjoyment that the lads decided to wrap it up with a podcast, in which they recorded themselves chatting about various aspects of the enterprise (because of COURSE they did. Oh, and did I forget to mention...I appeared as a Special Guest Analyst to rant about stuff--I mean "share my insights". Apparently we all take our shenanigans very much to heart around here...). In fact, it went so well that there's already talk about doing another one, with a different theme. Hey, in these nutty times, if this is what they're doing to...supplement their education...who am I to argue? Perhaps with my proximity to one of the Heads of Operations, I can score myself a spot on the planning board for next time...mwah hah hah!