Five Levels of Selection Sunday Hope

It's the end of the basketball season, and every fan in the nation is in temporary limbo. Fans whose teams are still in with a shout, however, will spend the rest of the day chewing their nails down to the quick while they wait to see what the committee thought of their team's season. Here are the five basic mindsets that those folks fit into:

1. I think we should be a one seed. These guys are the top of the pile. They think their teams are national championship contenders, and they're right. Rather than spend their Sundays in quiet contemplation, though, they memorize things like wins against the RPI top 25 and true road records, then tell you why the numbers favor their gang finding the top line even though you were never going to ask. Annoying, especially when your team has a much, much worse resume.
2. Resting comfortably. The most relaxed cats you're going to meet today. They're not all bent out of shape about the top line, but they know they're going to be somewhere in the top four in their region. It's all about enjoying the show for them, so they do.
3. Hoping for good matchups. The last of the mindsets that has people hoping not to see their teams drawn on a certain line. They know what their weaknesses are and what kind of teams they don't want to see. Every time a dangerous mid-major is shown on a line, you can hear their collective breathing stop until they know if they've dodged the bullet or not.
4. We're in, right? Yeah, we're in. These guys have been on the bubble too long, and it has gotten to them. They're basically like group number one, except with the tournament in particular instead of being on the top line. They've spent the day or more likely the entire week studying the RPI and poring over bracketology posts, but they're convinced the resume holds up.
5. Please God, not the NIT. The one trump card to any college basketball related argument is to ask the person how his team did in the NIT last year. There's no coming back from that. These guys are desperate, and they know they left some wins out there this year, but there's still a little bit of hope. Avoid them at your selection show party today.

I've been in all of these except the top one. Today I'm at number four. Hopefully my faith is rewarded.