Edgy Thoughts: No hatin' here

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OK. So I missed on a few teams. 

Outside of, say, the fans of Marist, Waubonsie Valley, Bradley, Crete-Monee and a handful of other lower-seeded teams, I'm pretty certain I wasn't the only one to miss on these sleepers. I'm pretty confident in that fact. It happens.

Am I disappointed in myself? Hardly.

It's semifinal time: The last and - I feel - best round of the entire IHSA state playoffs and the last games of the season played on a home field.

I love upsets at this time of the year. Seeing a team like Waubonsie Valley, who dropped its last two regular season contests and came into the 8A playoff field with a lowly No. 30 seed get on a postseason roll, is great. It's likely that no one outside of Waubonsie Valley saw this coming. The same can be said about Marist, who also happened to drop its last two regular season games. People near 115th and Pulaski might have had confidence in the Redhawks. Did anyone else?

How about Palatine? The Pirates had a strong regular season, but lost a 49-19 game in Week 6 to Fremd, a team who lost four of its last five regular season games. It drew more than a few confused looks. That wacky Mid-Suburban West.

And then there's Bradley. The Boilermakers first win against a team with a winning record in 2015 didn't come until the opening round of the 7A playoffs, in a 60-59 overtime triumph at Glenbrook North.

So will I flip my picks and start taking the underdogs now? Will I hop on board the various bandwagons? In some cases yes, but in most cases no.

But don't get me wrong: I have no issue with those underdogs winning. 

Seeing those lower seeds get deep and, even in a few cases, win a state title? It makes it the best time for the IHSA state playoffs.

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