The GIF Bracket, Day 4: The First Round Draws To A Close

We conclude the first round of the “Greatest Animated Sports GIF Of All Time” bracket Thursday. Round 2 will begin next week, and then the following rounds after that, and so on untli we have one GIF, and then we will vote for our favorite pixel in that particular GIF. We will not attempt to split that pixel, because Albert Einstein strongly recommended against it.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The GIF bracket has seen plenty of drama, and Day 3 was no exception. While Favre Gets Hit In The Dong, as expected, has a commanding lead, Riot Push-Ups and The Worst Swing Ever are still neck-and-neck -- as of this writing, the voting stood at 543 to 511. Meanwhile, voters are facing a crisis: does voting for Terrible Person constitute an endorsement of the terrible person’s terrible behavior? Please don’t ask me for guidance; that’s an issue to be resolved between you and your spiritual leader.

In case you missed any of the voting, it’s still open until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern:

View and vote on GIFs in the West Region bracket
View and vote on GIFs in the South Region bracket
View and vote on GIFs in the East Region bracket

And if you’re all caught up, let’s move on to the North Region. No lie: this may be the tournament’s strongest region. Let’s get to it.

NORTH REGION -- FIRST ROUND

(1) Overconfident Jeremy Shockey vs.
(16) Tulowitzki Catches Ball With Bat
VOTE NOW

(8) Ryan Howard’s Personal Troll vs.
(9) Daniel Sedin, Pacifist Hero
VOTE NOW

(5) Lionel Messi Is An Alien vs.
(12) Rob Gronkowski Should Be Dead
VOTE NOW

(4) RG3’s Life Is Ridiculous vs.
(13) Baseball’s Winter Meetings Are Exciting
VOTE NOW

(6) Jack Wilson Throws Invisible Baseball vs.
(11) Nick Novak Pees On Live TV
VOTE NOW

(3) The Yankees’ Infield vs.
(14) Matt Forte’s Insane Juke
VOTE NOW

(7) Jerome Simpson’s Flip vs.
(10) Bruce Bowen’s Flying Kick
VOTE NOW

(2) Shut Up, Chris Rock vs.
(15) A Neat Horse Racing GIF
VOTE NOW