I usually wait until we start seeing our first big upset to post this thread, but it seems everything is a little out of kilter (which is starkly different than being out of a kilt. I do not recommend the latter in mixed company. Plesase don’t ask how I know.) With the transfer portal and NIL, whole teams are getting put together on the fly. New coaches show up, old coaches add new wrinkles, and assistants switch to new schools (Good luck, Nolan!)(Whoopsie) (I might have waited too long to post this.)

Speaking of new coaches, we have a new coach this year, and I am personally hoping for modest improvement over his predecessor.

So, back to the rules of the Don’t Jinx It thread. Should be easy-peasy, right? Not so.

Any time we see an upset brewing, we talk about something else, whether it's that special beer/stout/porter we're cracking open, or our favorite drinks, a rough-and-tumble boilermaker or the more sophisticated Manhattan depending on mood- or whether Bears, Golden Bears, or Black Bears are scarier. We can just post about our favorite movies, too. Hoosiers, anyone? Anyhow, talk about anything but the upset.

The goal, of course, is to let everyone know about impending upsets without startling the outcome. Upsets are delicate creatures, easily frightened, and will flee the court - they should only be approached obliquely. We don’t want to Buffalo any upsets by being too pushy with the shoutout but we do want to Volunteer enough information to let everyone else know what’s going on. Which network to watch would be helpful.

A case study: Last year, I wrote,
Shouting "UPSET ALERT: Akron is up on Ohio State!" causes shots to clank and rebounds to go awry, and we get Zip. Instead, maybe drop into Yoda speak. "A trend to Buck, I will not.
Sadly, tOSU won on a last second basket at the rim. Now I can’t prove I jinxed the Zips though I did give BlueDevil2K a conniption by being a bit too on point, but I might have, dangnabit.

I offer my usual caveat: the observer effect suggests that simply one's awareness is enough to jinx the whole dang enterprise. We will just have to take our chances and have some fun.

Enjoy!