The first round of our License Plate Bracket has been completed. Here’s what the bracket looks like now:
If you’d like to vote in the second round, there are three ways to do so (and yes, you can vote on all three, but be cool about it).
1. This Google Form:
2. Our Instagram stories:
https://www.instagram.com/thebarkingcrow/
3. This Twitter thread:
Voting closes tomorrow (Saturday) at roughly 1:00 PM EDT.
Now, detailed results from the first round, with commentary. We’ll start in the top left corner of the bracket:
33. Louisiana defeats 32. Illinois, 29-19
Instagram: Louisiana 10, Illinois 9
Twitter: Louisiana 10, Illinois 6
Google Form: Louisiana 9, Illinois 4
Not a big surprise here. The Illinois plate has a lot of shortcomings (Lincoln’s on the Chicago side instead of the Springfield side, only half of Lincoln is shown, Chicago and Springfield are equal heights, Lincoln isn’t just the entire thing, Lincoln is too faint, Rod Blagojevich isn’t across from Lincoln as a counterpoint, etc.). The Louisiana plate’s only possible shortcoming is the font, and that’s a subjective argument. Louisiana advances to face the top overall seed, Wyoming, and they do so with some momentum.
16. Washington defeats 49. Tennessee, 43-4
Instagram: Washington 18, Tennessee 1
Twitter: Washington 13, Tennessee 2
Google Form: Washington 12, Tennessee 1
It’s hard to say whether this lopsided vote is a reflection of the Washington plate’s strength (“strong” is a good word to describe the plate, though I personally use “mighty”) or the Tennessee plate’s weakness (Tennessee has so much going for it, and they decided to make the Smokies look like some foggy Scottish countryside without the charming villages?). We’ll learn more in the next round, as Washington moves on to face…
17. New Hampshire defeats 48. Ohio, 43-4
Instagram: New Hampshire 18, Ohio 1
Twitter: New Hampshire 13, Ohio 2
Google Form: New Hampshire 12, Ohio 1
…New Hampshire.
This result mirrored Washington’s perfectly. Had to double check that I didn’t just forget to type in the New Hampshire results after copying and pasting the form.
With this, again, it’s unclear how strong New Hampshire’s plate really is in the eyes of the people, but all but four of us (and possibly just one of us with a burner account on Twitter) can agree that Ohio’s got a bad license plate. The New Hampshire/Washington matchup is intriguing, to say the least.
25. California defeats 40. Arkansas, 38-10
Instagram: California 15, Arkansas 4
Twitter: California 12, Arkansas 4
Google Form: California 11, Arkansas 2
Arkansas’s license plate is fine. California’s is iconic, but that might just be because it’s California’s so we’re all familiar with it. Next up for the Golden State is a meeting with its polar opposite (in terms of states, not plates), eighth-seeded West Virginia, whose plate has been called “actively soothing” by at least one license plate blogger.
24. Oregon defeats 41. New Jersey, 46-0
Instagram: Oregon 19, New Jersey 0
Twitter: Oregon 14, New Jersey 0
Google Form: Oregon 13, New Jersey 0
The fact that this was a shutout says a lot. Do people dislike New Jersey? Do they dislike its license plate? The answer is probably both, but this could also have something to do with Oregon’s likeability. Tough draw in the second round against Hawaii, but in the second round, tough draws are to be expected.
36. Maine defeats 29. Kentucky, 24-22
Instagram: Maine 13, Kentucky 6
Twitter: Kentucky 8, Maine 6
Google Form: Kentucky 8, Maine 5
Maine only won on the Instagram platform, but it did so by enough to carry the day. A thrilling showdown. Maine will face fellow New England plate Vermont in the second round.
20. New York defeats 45. Virginia, 29-17
Instagram: New York 13, Virginia 6
Twitter: New York 12, Virginia 2
Google Form: Virginia 9, New York 4
Our Google Form voters really liked Virginia. Our social media voters did not. Perhaps those social media voters, like me, have been a victim of Virginia’s predatory and poorly-communicated reckless driving law, and thus hold a not-insignificant bias against anything having to do with Virginia roadways. New York advances to square off with Arizona.
28. Montana defeats 37. Alabama, 37-9
Instagram: Montana 13, Alabama 6
Twitter: Montana 12, Alabama 2
Google Form: Montana 12, Alabama 1
There were questions entering this tournament about whether Alabama’s picturesque plate would be weighed down by the “Heart of Dixie” emblem. We don’t know whether that was what did them in or not, but the Montana plate’s strong showing is telling. Montana now has to deal with its neighboring plate, Idaho, which brings with it the voting heft of the potato lobby.
21. Missouri defeats 44. Kansas, 23-22
Instagram: Missouri 10, Kansas 9
Twitter: Missouri 7, Kansas 6
Google Form: Missouri 6, Kansas 7
Did we plan to have these bitter rivals of states meet one another in this tournament? Honestly, no. But it worked out well.
The biggest takeaway from this is that I, personally, seem to like Missouri’s plate a lot more than the rest of you. No love for sneaky bears, huh? No love for a bicentennial? And don’t try to tell me you just “really like the Kansas plate” because I don’t think anyone really likes the Kansas plate (actually, the dusty sky blue does take one’s thoughts to the prairie, so maybe half of you are just fans of tallgrass).
Missouri goes up against Delaware next. Seems like a good draw for Delaware, but license plate voters are famously unpredictable.
31. Florida defeats 34. Connecticut, 42-3
Instagram: Florida 16, Connecticut 2
Twitter: Florida 14, Connecticut 0
Google Form: Florida 12, Connecticut 1
Was not expecting such a blowout here. Figures, given how our country treats THE CONSTITUTION.
Just kidding (but only slightly).
The beef with the Florida plate is the unnecessary use of the tourism url. Was that reflected too strongly in the seedings? Perhaps. Perhaps Connecticut’s was just boring enough to make this a consensus decision, if not one that was made with great fervor. Whatever the case, Florida advances to a vote against second-seeded North Dakota.
15. Indiana defeats 50. Mississippi, 32-13
Instagram: Indiana 16, Mississippi 3
Twitter: Indiana 9, Mississippi 4
Google Form: Indiana 7, Mississippi 6
A lot of Mississippi votes on the Google Form. You Google Form voters like those S’s, huh?
Indiana faces Georgia next.
18. Georgia defeats 47. Michigan, 41-4
Instagram: Georgia 17, Michigan 2
Twitter: Georgia 12, Michigan 1
Google Form: Georgia 12, Michigan 1
An emphatic rebuke of an advertising campaign that ran its course long ago.
39. Massachusetts defeats 26. Nebraska, 33-13
Instagram: Massachusetts 11, Nebraska 8
Twitter: Massachusetts 11, Nebraska 3
Google Form: Massachusetts 11, Nebraska 2
An emphatic rebuke of my personal affinity for The Sower, and of my personal skepticism that the “Spirit of America” is a culturally institutionalized Napoleon complex.
Massachusetts’s next opponent is North Carolina.
23. Rhode Island defeats 42. Iowa, 25-21
Note: The bracket has the wrong total listed for Iowa. This will be corrected in tomorrow’s bracket. The result is unchanged.
Instagram: Rhode Island 10, Iowa 9
Twitter: Rhode Island 11, Iowa 3
Google Form: Iowa 9, Rhode Island 4
Mixed opinions here, depending on the platform. Does the general pleasantry of Iowa’s plate perform better with Google Form voters and those on Instagram? Are Twitter users, conditioned to be snarky, less impressed with the Des Moines skyline?
Next up for Rhode Island is a date with New Mexico that could go any of a number of directions.
30. South Carolina defeats 17. Minnesota, 29-17
Instagram: South Carolina 14, Minnesota 6
Twitter: South Carolina 9, Minnesota 4
Google Form: Minnesota 7, South Carolina 6
The pundits are divided on how folks feel about South Carolina’s license plate. The Palmetto Moon is a beloved image, but “While I breathe, I hope” draws mixed reactions. Could South Carolina be a force to be reckoned with against Alaska in the next round? Or will all that hope be extinguished?
14. Wisconsin defeats 51. Oklahoma, 37-7
Instagram: Wisconsin 14, Oklahoma 5
Twitter: Wisconsin 11, Oklahoma 1
Google Form: Wisconsin 12, Oklahoma 1
Bottom-seeded Oklahoma gets more love than expected, primarily from Instagram, where the anti-dairy vote looms large. Still, Wisconsin advances comfortably to meet the winner of this next one, where…
46. Nevada defeats 19. Pennsylvania, 23-21
Instagram: Nevada 10, Pennsylvania 9
Twitter: Nevada 7, Pennsylvania 5
Google Form: Pennsylvania 7, Nevada 6
A heartbreaker for Pennsylvania. Nevada was likely underseeded in the eyes of the public, and the Keystone State’s plate (the Keystone Plate?) was the one that took the fall. Does Nevada really mean home? We’ll find out as it stares down Wisconsin this afternoon and tomorrow morning.
27. Utah defeats 38. District of Columbia, 26-20
Instagram: Utah 14, District of Columbia 7
Twitter: Utah 8, District of Columbia 4
Google Form: District of Columbia 9, Utah 4
A strong performance in the Google Form kept D.C. in this one, but Utah proved to just be too much. Looks like ending taxation-without-representation is less compelling than Delicate Arch. Which I think we all could have guessed. Utah now meets South Dakota, which really means Delicate Arch has to deal with Mount Rushmore.
22. Texas defeats 43. Maryland, 29-18
Instagram: Texas 17, Maryland 5
Twitter: Texas 7, Maryland 5
Google Form: Maryland 8, Texas 5
Look, Maryland, all we’re saying, as a voting whole, is that you could do better.
Texas moves on to face Colorado.
Image credits can be found in this post.
