Ultimate Fast Food/Fast Casual Restaurant March Madness Bracket (Sweet 16)
ALL SEEDING WAS DETERMINED BY FAN VOTE
Round 3. 16 restaurants. Sweet 16. One champion. You decide.
In the words of Jon Rothstein…
Vote below.
Let’s take a look at the regions and who I think the favorites and upset picks will be to make the Elite Eight…
We have a fast food burger chain matchup of the titans between the global icon 1- seed McDonald’s and the regional darling 4-seed Whataburger. While I am the #1 Whataburger fan, and it will get my vote, I just don’t see McDonald’s losing this one. The vote might be closer than expected, though. Meanwhile, the lowest remaining seed 11-seed Dairy Queen has a legit shot at beating 2-seed Chipotle. While it might be unfair that they have ice cream, the dessert factor might help the grill-and-chillers upset Chipotle. Hey, if Chipotle wants to get a leg up, they need to use the alcohol option to their advantage!
My Elite 8 Picks: 4-seed Whataburger and 11-seed Dairy Queen
My Elite 8 Prediction: 1-seed McDonald’s and 2-seed Chipotle
Round Two Upset Pick: None
I don’t think 1-seed Chick-Fil-A is the favorite to win the tournament anymore, but I do think it has a solid edge over 4-seed Culver’s, which is getting my vote. Any regional chain at this stage is probably on their last leg. Is that fair? Maybe not, but this is what happens when you do a nationwide (or worldwide) vote. On the bottom half of the region, 2-seed Burger King is going to have a slugfest with 6-seed White Castle. Burger King’s wider reach might put it over the top, but it sounds like there are a lot of White Castle fans out there and I am going to take a risk with my prediction.
My Elite 8 Picks: 4-seed Culver’s and 2-seed Burger King
My Elite 8 Prediction: 1-seed Chick-Fil-A and 6-seed White Castle
Round Two Upset Pick: 6-seed White Castle
This is the chicken region for me, as I am giving my votes to 5-seed Bojangles’ and 3-seed Popeyes. My guess is that the fans will probably vote for 1-seed Five Guys as they’ve had a pretty easy time so far advancing, but I am getting a sense that Popeyes might be able to pull an upset and reach the Final Four from this region. Speaking of regions, once again the regional classification will likely hurt a restaurant here, as I just don’t see a way 2-seed In-N-Out moves on any farther in the bracket.
My Elite 8 Picks: 5-seed Bojangles’ and 3-seed Popeyes
My Elite 8 Prediction: 1-seed Five Guys and 3-seed Popeyes
Round Two Upset Pick: 6-seed White Castle
2-seed Taco Bell is going to win the whole thing. You heard it here first. (Actually, I said that last week, I think) It has dominated competition thus far and the roadblocks aren’t there on its path to the Final Four. While 6-seed Raising Cane’s has had a nice run, I am going to guess that it doesn’t even get 30% of the vote against Taco Bell. 1-seed Wendy’s is my pick in the top half, but people have a pretty strong love for 4-seed Shake Shack and I think Dave Thomas’ joint is the first #1 seed to bite the dust.
My Elite 8 Picks: 1-seed Wendy’s and 2-seed Taco Bell
My Elite 8 Prediction: 4-seed Shake Shack and 2-seed Taco Bell
Round Two Upset Pick: 4-seed Shake Shack
—
There you have it! Let the voting begin. (External voting link: https://forms.gle/UHew14Kx8zxxwmccA)
I am hoping for the Elite Eight voting to begin on Monday, April 1st, followed by the Final Four on Wednesday, April 3rd and the Champion being crowned on Monday, April 8th.