March Madness -- Pagliacci Style

Every year there is a Thursday in March that is unlike any Thursday throughout the year. The first round of the NCAA tournament is like a holiday for me. I have pretended to be sick, actually been sick and cut class all to take in the games. The only thing I haven’t missed in the name of watching games is tossing pizzas – though thanks to TiVo I am able to manage work and games just fine these days.

One of the great things about March Madness is the brackets. I love filling out brackets and seeing how well I do relative to co-workers, friends or my annual match up with my dad (the loser has to do dishes).

I have always been competitive and March Madness fed that for three weeks every spring. I’ve often wondered at how I can get brackets and competition into my everyday life. This year is the year that I finally get to stop wondering. Pagliacci is having its own March Madness competition.

That’s right – 64 of the best cooks in the company have been chosen and are ready to toss their way through the brackets. Whether it’s a store manager with 10 years’ experience, an Associate Manager with tons of tossing time, or a part-time crewmember looking to be a Cinderella, these cooks can bust it out in the kitchen.

So this week we start our regional matches – all held at various stores to pare down to the eventual champion. Contestants are graded on both speed and quality – tossing while their fellow crew cheer them on and rival stores heckle and jeer. As a judge I might not be getting my one shining moment this time around, but at least I don’t have to call out sick to see the matches!

See our bracket.