Bracing for bracketology: Millions betting on March Madness

Farmington, N.Y., grocer Pat Bowe would tell you that as much statistics, study and sweat go into analyzing an NCAA Final Four bracket as a student might summon for a physics exam.

But Las Vegas doesn't put odds on your kid's test. Web sites, offices, fan forums, barrooms and sports broadcasts don't broil in vehement debate over the Schrodinger equation.

Bowe calls it the best time of the year. He gushes when he talks about it.

Sixty-five teams. Games from noon to midnight. Underdogs, point spreads, powerhouses, upsets, score tickers. Then, of course, there's the exquisite symmetry of the brackets, their irrevocable collapse inward, to one. It's single-elimination. No faults. No forgiveness.

"It's the best three weeks there is," says Bowe.

Bowe's a rabid NCAA fan and runs a bracket betting pool for family and friends from his grocery, Bowe's Store.

He's hardly alone.

A poll by Harris Interactive Inc. taken during March Madness two years ago found that one in five American adults said they have played the brackets at least once. About one in seven planned to play the pool that year. That's nearly 29 million people.

Bowe takes picks for about 30 folks. It used to be closer to 75, he says.

"It downsized, like everything," Bowe says.

Still, he gets calls from out of state, from Florida and North Carolina. They call or mail in their picks - he isn't one for computers. They just need to make sure they're postmarked before the first match.

A lot of folks around here, like Bowe, are diehard Syracuse fans. Many others, like his daughter, can't help but pull for the North Carolina juggernaut. But whatever team you root for, you need to keep things objective when you make your picks, he advises.

"Also, you always pick an upset here and there," he says. "And if you get that upset pick into the Final Four, that's how you win it."

Contact Philip Anselmo at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 322, or at panselmo@mpnewspapers.com.