Midwest Madness 2022: Which City Will Reign Supreme?
Each year the team at Midwest Startups and M25 pits Midwest cities against each other for three weeks of Twitter polls. Which city will take the crown this year? The experts at Midwest Startups weigh in with this year’s predictions below:
As the nation kicks off another month of collegiate basketball matchups, we’re bringing our own tournament back for the season, and we’ve got our own hot takes to go with it.
Last year’s competition saw decisive victories by some of the Midwest’s largest tech ecosystem and a handful of riveting Cinderella stories, ultimately resulting in 5-seeded Bloomington, IN taking home the trophy…er…framed victory tweet.
What can we expect from this year’s tournament? Read on for our predictions, observations, and hot takes:
Reigning champ Bloomington doesn’t make it to the Elite 8
(via Leandro) Perhaps the hottest take of the season: I’m not convinced Bloomington will pack the same punch this year and make it to the Elite 8. Some key social media influencers in Btown have been less active over the past year…will that equate to a lull in enthusiasm for voting? To be determined.
Last year, Bloomington took on multiple Goliaths in key match ups as well as fellow social media darling Wichita and proved that they could effectively out-vote bigger metros, including one matchup that saw over 2,000 votes. We can’t say with certainty that these votes all belong to actual citizens of this college town, but if they did, it would mean nearly 4% of the city’s population was helping push Bloomington to victory.
Still bullish on Chicago (and the strong return of Wichita)
(via Victor) I don’t think an obvious powerhouse (like a large MSA) is always a clear favorite, but I’ve seen Chicago’s tech community blossom (digitally and IRL) this past year, so I think that they could actually put some weight behind their combined Twitter accounts and get our fair city to at least the Final Four, if not a championship. The sheer size of our community should make us a contender.
On the other hand, Wichita took a HARD loss last year in the Final Four to eventual champions Bloomington, and their ecosystem has grown stronger and more united since, so this could be a repeat Cinderella story going alllllll the way.
A few good underdogs and maybe an alliance?
(via Katie) At least one 11-seed or lower will make it to the Elite 8. We’ve given each community advanced lead times to mobilize this year, and I’m crossing my fingers for a good underdog story. It’s possible for a smaller community to rally their startup scene and friends around a vote to pull a big upset — Bloomington proved that time and time again last year, and so did Wichita. I’m also hoping to see city-to-city alliances — voters from one city rooting for a smaller city for a more exciting matchup later in the bracket. Will some smaller metros realize that they can band together to out-vote a bigger one? I’m not sure it’s been done before in low-stakes Twitter poll tournaments, but I’m willing to find out!
As an aside: Indiana’s 4 biggest tech ecosystems — Indianapolis, Lafayette, Bloomington, and South Bend — are all situated in Region 4 in this year’s bracket. I’m hoping for some dramatic head-to-heads if these cities can make it past the first round or two. That IU/Purdue rivalry that runs so deep in the Hoosier State? We’d get to see it during the Round of 16 if Bloomington and Lafayette can make it past this week! In fact: there’s one scenario in which all Region 4 cities competing in the Round of 16 could be from Indiana…
It’s really anyone’s guess
(via Abhinaya) Because few cities have well-organized digital communities, it’s hard to predict which cities will rise to the top. My strategy: I would just throw a dart at a board to pick which city will win. Honestly.
Final Predictions from the Midwest Startups Team
Katie: (3) Columbus or (4) Louisville
Victor: (1) Chicago or (1) Cincinnati
Leandro: (1) Wichita
Ruth: (1) Cincinnati
