Muppet Madness Tournament 2011: FINAL ROUND!

Well, this is it, Muppet fans! After weeks of toiling and voting and campaigning and whatever else it is that we've been doing... the Final Round of this year's Muppet Madness Tournament is finally here! It's the matchup of the century between Super Grover and Statler and Waldorf--a matchup I've been predicting since Round 2! It's been a long, hard road for all of the contestants... but it all comes down to this. Will Super Grover crash into the winner's spot? Or will Statler and Waldorf heckle their way forward? Only time will tell...

Only until April 4th, actually, because that's when voting ends. But don't you worry, four days may not seem like a long time, but in actuality there are over 48 chances to vote! How is this possible you ask? Well, in the Final Round only, you can vote every two hours!! How crazy is that?! And believe me, it might be necessary. As of now there are only 35 votes separating the competitors. (Super Grover is winning, of course.) (Not that I'm picking favorites.)

So go! Vote! Now! Often! Again! Later! Oh, also... check out this GORGEOUS artwork from the one and only uber-talented demigod of Muppet fan art Dave Hulteen:

Cast your vote now at...
http://muppetfans.com/tournament






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Madness Tournament 2011: Final Four!

Ah, The Muppet Madness Tournament... it seems like it grows up so fast. Why, only last week I could have sworn we were in the Regional, yet here we are, looking at the Final Four. And what a contest this is shaping up to be, huh? Out off the West we have Super Grover vs. Mr. Snuffleupagus and from the East is Rizzo the Rat vs. Statler and Waldorf. Odd how we tried to pair up the Muppets with Muppets from other productions yet we get Sesame vs. Sesame and Muppets vs. Muppets. Well anyway... here's how we see this all going down:

Super Grover vs. Mr. Snuffleupagus
Does Snuffy stand a chance against everyone's favorite furry, blue super monster? No... probably not. He may be big, but the sentimentality people feel for the shaggy fellow is not close to enough to topple such a huge fan favorite like Super Grover. One look at the adorable blue caped one and voters will most likely cast one towards him. He's Not just a favorite, he's a force to be reckoned with. If Super Grover wins the entire tournament I will not be at all surprised.

Rizzo the Rat vs. Statler and Waldorf
Some comments on the Tournament page have been saying that they're shocked at how far Rizzo has come. I'm honestly pretty surprised too. After upset victories over Sam Eagle and The Penguins, it seems that Rizzo, the rat who could, will finally meet his match in Statler and Waldorf. The fierce words and stiff competition being put up by the two old farts seemingly can't be stopped. Rizzo's American Idol journey will probably end here. ...Wait, what? Wrong show? Oh. Well... no one reads this anyway, so what's it matter?

If my predictions are correct we'll be looking at a Super Grover vs. Statler and Waldorf championship round. And, honestly, I've been predicting that since the votes started pouring in for Round 1. Oh, and did I mention... you can now vote EVERY 4 HOURS! Yes, for this round ONLY, you can now vote in the Final Four every 4 hours! I am so excited! Oh, how I love Muppet Madness! I can't wait to see how it all plays out--and what surprises we have up our sleeves! (Yes, that's right, not even we know what surprises we have!)

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

The Muppet Madness Tournament 2011: Round 3

Greetings, Muppet fans! Here we are again, already time for Round 3 of The Muppet Madness Tournament 2011--or, the Regional, if you like sports or glee club competitions. The match-ups between Muppets is getting more and more intense! We now have two classic Frank Oz character variants pitted against each other... and we have Statler and Waldorf facing off against Scooter. How will it all go?! Well... once again, here are our predictions:

Character Variants
Alistair Cookie vs. Super Grover
Arguably the two most popular characters in this year's lineup, Alistair Cookie and Super Grover have been racking up record vote numbers since Round 1. It will be extremely interesting to see if their rampant fans continue coming out in full force to support them in the Regional. But who will win? Well, I've been calling for a Super Grover victory of the whole tournament, so my money is on the super monster who is furry, lovable, and cute, too. I suppose this race could go either way... but I find it hard to believe that the uber fan-favorite Super Grover could be beaten by Cookie Monster's Monsterpiece Theater character. Although, like I said last time, I've been wrong before!

Creatures
Mr. Snuffleupagus vs. Mahna Mahna
Another hotly debated race. Snuffy and Mahna Mahna have been engaged in some of the most vocal and passionate competitions of this whole tournament. Snuffy's pull out over Cantus last round and Mahna Mahna's victory over the Doozers have solidified them both as heavy fan favorites. However, like always, Snuffy is heavier. I have to call a victory for Snuffy in this round. Yes, finally ready to prove he is so not imaginary by making it to the Final Four, Mr. Snuffleupagus will trounce Mahna Mahna. I'm sorry, Mahna Mahna fans... I just really don't think he can do doo do doo it.

Animals
Rizzo the Rat vs. The Penguins
Some of these matchups... it's like picking favorite children! (Obviously the one that runs a Muppet blog is always the favorite.) While Rizzo is one of my very favorites... the Penguins define Muppet randomness and zaniness! How will we choose?! I don't know about you... but I'll probably go back and forth voting for both. I suspect that most casual fans will vote for Rizzo, simply because of his history and characterization. The Penguins may be fantastic but they simply don't have the character or wit and charm of Rizzo. Sure, they're great for tossing around... but they can't bat the rat and that is that.

Humanoids
Statler and Waldorf vs. Scooter
Ladies and gentleman, the only matchup in the Regional that is completely one-sided! Unfortunately, Scooter just cannot stand up the might of Statler and Waldorf ("might" used here to mean overwhelming age). The two old geezers have the highest likelihood of going to the final round int he whole tournament. Poor Scooter just can't take that heat... No matter how much they may hate it (even though they probably secretly love it), I'm calling yet another all out victory for Statler and Waldorf.


And there you have it, Muppet fans! I guess we'll just have to see how it all plays out. Now... go vote! In this round only you'll be able to vote every 8 hours instead of 12. So what are you waiting for?! Hop on over to http://muppetfans.com/tournament and make your vote count!






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Madness Tournament 2011: Round 2

Muppet fans! Have you been doing your patriotic duty by voting every 12 hours in this year's Muppet Madness Tournament? You had better be... because the competition has been positively fierce so far. Alistair Cookie just barely pulled out over Dr. Bob in Round 1... same with Snuffy over Sweetums--and Round 2 isn't getting any easier. Check out some of these match ups! Swedish Chef vs. Statler and Waldorf, Super Grover vs. First Mate Piggy--how will you choose?! Well... here's how we see it all boiling down.

Character Variants
Alistair Cookie vs. Dearth Nadir
That other Round 2 break down predicted this win to go to the black-leather clad Dearth Nadir over the fuzzy blue robe-wearer. However, I predict that Alistair Cookie will continue his ride of success from Round 1 and topple over Dearth Nadir in this round, simply because Cookie Monster is a more well-known and popular character and Alistair Cookie appeared a whole lot more than Dearth Nadir did... Who is that strange man, anyway?

Super Grover vs. First Mate Piggy
I honestly think that this race is no contest... I predict Super Grover completely taking down the space pig in this round and I completely anticipate him making it all the way to the final round. I mean... c'mon... it's Super Grover, for corn's sake! You can't beat that with a stick. (Well... you probably could, but the kids definitely wouldn't learn anything from that.)

Creatures
Mr. Snuffleupagus vs. Cantus the Minstrel
I also think that this fight is pretty well won already... I predict that most viewers will be extremely nostalgic for the days of imaginary Snuffy and all the wonderful moments he has had on the Street over the years. The fact that Cantus only appeared in five episodes of Fraggle Rock won't help him... but perhaps his being a classic Jim Henson character will give him a win from behind. But for now I'm predicting a massive Snuffle coup. 

The Doozers vs. Mahna Mahna
Currently Mahna Mahna is trouncing The Doozers with about 10% more of the vote. Now... I'm no scientist (believe me), but I'd say that's a pretty good sign of him continuing to hold the lead through the end of the round. The Doozers are just to small to make a significant impact, unfortunately... I guess losing is just another thing that Doozers do?

Animals
Rizzo the Rat vs. Sam Eagle
This will be a very interesting one to watch. Two very popular, very fan-favorite characters battling it out for victory... and it's really anyone's guess which of them will pull out on top. My prediction is that Sam will jump to victory because of his patriotism and nostalgia factor, along with his "American Woman" video last year. However, I could also see Rizzo sneaking into the winner's circle based on his role in The Muppet Christmas Carol which a lot of casual fans absolutely love him in. But my money's on Sam... even though I'm sure he doesn't condone betting.

The Penguins vs. Slimey
Another pretty simple one to predict... The Penguins will pull out on top here--one could say they'll flip their way to victory. Slimey may have been to the moon and won the Squirmadega 500, but he just can't stand up to an entire horde of semi-aquatic arctic fowl. To a lot of people, Penguins define the Muppets--hurling Penguins, flipping Penguins, orchestra Penguins... Poor Slimey just can't slither to the top here.

Humanoids
The Swedish Chef vs. Statler and Waldorf
This is another one that could virtually go either way. These are arguably three of the most popular Muppet characters of all time battling it out for glory. The Swedish Chef has been immensely popular since his first appearance... but so have Statler and Waldorf. I guess it's just going to come down to which of them people have fonder memories of. I'm going to have to piggy-back off of ToughPigs' choice and say that this race is honestly just too close to call at this point. At the moment, Statler and Waldorf do have a slight lead... but I really do predict The Swedish Chef to come up strong very soon. This is the one to watch, folks!

Scooter vs. Janice
Yet another super close race! Scooter and Janice... possibly Richard Hunt's two most popular characters, battling it out for golden humanoid Muppet glory! Who will take the cake? Scooter has the fact that he appeared in nearly every episode of The Muppet Show going for him... while Janice is a fan favorite of hardcore and casual fans alike (the fact that she apparently looks like so many celebrities is a plus for her). Although Scooter holds the lead at the moment, anything is possible. I'm actually gonna go against the grain and call for a Janice victory here... but I've been wrong numerous (numerous) times before, so we'll definitely see.

And there you have it, Muppet fans. The entire break down of Round 2 of The Muppet Madness Tournament. Well... what are you waiting for, Christmas?! Go vote! You get to vote every 12 hours, so get on it! When deciding who to vote for, just remember...

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Ryan Returns from Walt Disney World

Greetings, Muppet fans! Guess who's back--again! Yes, your favorite Ryan Dosier, Ryan Dosier, has returned from his much-needed vacation in Walt Disney World. How was Lisa the Intern? Did you all behave for her? I certainly hope so... she's the only good babysitter around. Unless you want me to call that British nanny again? ...That's what I thought.

Not much happening in today's post because I'm still tired and I have to unpack and such... but you can expect a full update on all the (few) Muppet things that were happening at Walt Disney World in the five days I was there. A preview: Not much was there, but I and a few Cast Members I spoke to were quite hopeful for what was coming with the wave from the upcoming movie.

Anyway... what is happening in this post is me reminding you to go vote in the first round of The Muppet Madness Tournament, which ends at midnight tomorrow, March 20th. There are some CRAZY close races currently--especially Alistair Cookie vs. Dr. Bob, which is currently only separated by two votes. So get over to http://muppetfans.com/tournament a vote, darn it! It's some of the most fun in the Muppet fan world all year and The Muppet Mindset is beyond thrilled to be a part of it this year. Who am I voting for? Well... I won't type it out but...

And, to end our post, we have to show off this fantastically amazing piece of work the incredibly talented Susanne Ritchie, who is behind the Black Cat Balloon Company blog, created. Check out this AMAZING balloon representation of everyone's favorite gargling gargoyle and bonafide Muppet Mindset mascot, Angus McGonagle:

How crazy awesome is that? I MUST have one. Someone call someone about that, okay? Be sure to check out the rest of the blog for even more amazing Muppet balloon representations and we'll see you all later here on The Muppet Mindset!









The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

2011 Muppet Madness Tournament

Note from Lisa the Intern: Again... the late thing. I can't blame the labyrinth I built to defend the sacred blog-running document this time. It's more the fact that I just got out of class and pulled an all-nighter last night. The Lisa wants sleep, by both the Shakespearian and the modern definition of the word "want." ...Also, the Lisa is an English major. ...And... the Q is silent... and... the Trash Heap has spoken. Nyah. ...Just read the announcement, would you? 

MuppetFans.com Proudly Presents: The 2011 Muppet Madness Tournament!

We’re halfway through March, the brackets are set, and fans’ excitement is ramping up, all of which can only mean one thing! Nope, it’s not March Madness, it’s something much more important: Muppet Madness! Following last year’s successful online tournament, the creators of fansite MuppetFans.com are extremely proud to present the 2011 Muppet Madness Tournament, which allows Muppet fans everywhere to vote for their favorite characters in a fun, engaging contest.

The online tournament is scheduled to run from March 15 to April 4, the same dates as the NCAA’s March Madness. Muppet fanatics and casual fans alike can participate by going to http://MuppetFans.com/tournament and casting their votes in various Muppet matchups, which will pit monster against frog, fairy against Fraggle, and bear against… whatever.

Designed to emulate the NCAA tournament, the Muppet Madness Tournament is divided into four quadrants: animals (Rizzo the Rat, Sam the Eagle) humanoids (Scooter, Sesame Street’s Guy Smiley), creatures (Mr. Snuffleupagus, Fraggle Rock’s Trash Heap), and a “variants” category for alternate versions of characters featured in last year’s tournament (Reporter Kermit, First Mate Piggy). Website visitors will be able to vote once every 12 hours in each matchup, until the champion is crowned. In the 2010 tournament, Bert & Ernie beat out fellow finalists Kermit and Gonzo to take the grand prize, and this year’s competition is sure to plenty of surprises and twists of its own along the way!

Voting results will be presented every Sunday on new episodes of The MuppetCast podcast (found in iTunes and at http://muppetcast.com) as well as featured articles on MuppetFans.com. Each week, the tournament hosts will announce the winners of the previous week’s round of voting, give some commentary on each competition, and present the matches for the next round, starting that same day.

Fans can also download a printable PDF of the tournament brackets and start tournament pools with other Muppet fans.






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

The Muppet Madness Tournament - The End

NOTE: Muppet Comic Mondays has been postponed due to extremely slow online comic store shipping speeds and my local comic shop being closed on Mondays for some reason. So look for our review of The Muppet Show Comic Book: Family Reunion coming soon!

This past weekend, one of the greatest coming-together events of Muppet fans from all over the world finally drew to a close. The Muppet Madness Tournament, sponsored by The MuppetCast and ToughPigs, pitted favorite Muppet characters against each other in an all out brawl of fuzzy proportions. The final round saw Kermit the Frog, Bert and Ernie, Sprocket, Bear, and Gonzo the Great fighting for the title.

Early predictions saw Kermit easily taking the title but that was soon disproved by the might of Bert and Ernie. Yes, the dynamic duo truly proved their staying power by garnering almost twice as many votes as the Frog. Speculation as to why the Frog lost has run rampant recently. Some people are attributing it to the fact that Bert and Ernie are two Muppets, thus have twice the popularity. Some say that it's just the extreme power of Jim Henson and Frank Oz's chemistry that propelled them to victory. Perhaps it was even Gonzo's resurrection that stole some votes away from Kermit.

Whatever the case, huge congratulations are due to Bert and Ernie for taking the gold. One can only assume that the duo plans to celebrate by eating cookies in bed and counting their bottlecap collection.

Congratulations to Bert and Ernie for their great win and congratulations to all of the Muppets in the competition for even making the big dance!

Big thanks to Steve Swanson, Joe Hennes, Ryan Roe, and Dave Hulteen, Jr. for all of their work on this fantastic Muppet fan event!











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Madness Tournament: FINALS

Greetings, folks! Welcome back to The Muppet Mindset for our coverage of the final week of voting for The Muppet Madness Tournament. After last week's four incredibly tight matches (and one where a weirdo won by a nose--a long nose), we finally have our Final Five Muppets competing for the spot as Muppet Madness Champion: Kermit the Frog vs. Bert and Ernie vs. Sprocket vs. Bear vs. Gonzo the Great (who was voted back in after the Resurrection Round).

Image by Dave Hulteen, Jr.
(Isn't it awesome?!)

Shockingly enough, the current poll standings show Bert and Ernie beating Kermit by more than two times the vote, but I have a feeling the frog will hop back before it's all said and done. But can Bear or Sprocket hold their own against such powerhouse fan-favorites as Kermit and Bert? Where does Gonzo stand in this madness? (He probably stands precariously perched upon a tower made of toothpicks.)

Voting ends this Sunday, April 11, so be sure to get as many of your votes in as possible. Remember, you can vote every 12 hours, so set your watches! Once again, I won't influence your votes for champion... but is there any doubt at all about who I'll be voting for?

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

The Muppet Madness Tournament: The Elite 8

As you all know by now thanks to my weekly reminding, The Muppet Madness Tournament is in full-swing. From the minds who bring you The MuppetCast and ToughPigs, this tournament is proving to be one of the most-visited and successful Muppet fan-made ventures in years.

This week brings us The Elite 8--the semi-semi-finals for those of you who have never existed near a television that gets ESPN in the month of March. The final eight Muppets on the bracket are Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, Wembley Fraggle, Sprocket, Skeeter, and Bear (from the Big Blue House, don't ya know). How's your bracket doing?

But this week there's also a special twist: The Resurrection Round. This week only, you can vote for any one Muppet who has already been eliminated. So if you're still reeling over the loss of Hoggle, or think that Telly Monster deserves a second shot at the title, or you have sense and know that Gonzo deserves a better seeding than he got... now is your chance to prove it!

So what are you sitting here reading this for? Go vote! (Unless you've already voted in the past 12 hours... In which case, wait 12 hours and then go vote!)

Special thanks to Steve Swanson of The MuppetCast, and Ryan Roe and Joe Henes of ToughPigs for organizing this fantastic tournament!












The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: March 25, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: March 25, 2010 
Do you have a Facebook? Did you know that a bunch of Sesame Street Muppets do too? That's right, Sesame Workshop has recently created official fan pages for Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Grover, and Rosita. The Sesame Street Facebook fan page says that even more pages for characters are on the way. I wonder if Oscar accepts anyone's friend request?

The Jim Henson Company has released an hysterical new video as part of its podcast. It's only two minutes long and it'll probably make your day, so why aren't you watching it already?

Our ergonomic (look it up) friends at ToughPigs have analyzed the character of my personal favorite Muppet, The Great Gonzo. While I don't necessarily agree with everything they said, it's still very well written and an extremely entertaining read (just as everything on ToughPigs is).

Be sure to come back to The Muppet Mindset tomorrow. I had the fabulous opportunity to interview yet another Muppeteer and part one of that interview will be going up tomorrow. Trust me... you won't want to miss it!

And, to close, remember to go vote in round 2 of The Muppet Madness Tournament! Elmo is in a heated race with Bert and Ernie and Fozzie is currently ham-hocking the pig with 66% of the vote. So if you're not pleased with that (or if Miss Piggy is paying you to be not pleased with that) go vote! As for me? I'm with the bear all the way!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Madness Tournament: My Bracket

Hey everybody! Remember that today is the last day to vote in Round 1 of the 2010 Muppet Madness Tournament, so get over there and vote, vote, vote! I know I should influence your votes... so I won't, I'll let this graphic do it for me!

There... now that that's taken care of, I thought I would entertain you all with my own bracket that I just filled out (and cropped and copied and pasted out). If any of you want to fill out your brackets and predict the winners, I'd love to see them!

There aren't any really surprises or upsets in my bracket. I'm still not confident that Cookie can beat out Bert and Ernie. And who knows? Maybe Miss Piggy fans will rally to take down the frog. But I'm pretty sure that Kermit will pull out on top at the end. He's basically unmatched in every contest except his bout with Piggy. I guess we'll just have to see where the votes fall!

Remember to keep voting every 12 hours and help your favorite Muppet pull out on top!

Special thanks to Steve Swanson, and Ryan and Joe from ToughPigs for arranging this awesome event!









The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Muppet Madness Monday

Every once in awhile, well-known Muppet fans get together and toss around ideas and something really amazing and fun happens. The Muppet Madness Tournament is one of those things. From the minds of Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe over at ToughPigs and Steve Swanson from The MuppetCast (along with the talented pen of everyone's favorite fan artist, Dave Hulteen, Jr.), comes this fantastic spin on the March Madness college basketball craze.

Starting yesterday, Muppet fans have been able to vote in Round 1 of this madcap contest of Muppet on Muppet action. Pitting Kermit against Gonzo, Sprocket against Junior Gorg, Grover against Cookie Monster, Baby Sinclair against Skeeter, The Muppet Madness Tournament is a chance for Muppet fans to pick the best Muppet (democratically, of course). The contest lasts until April 5 and you can vote once every 12 hours.

So what are you waiting for? Get yourself over to the bracket and start busing it with your votes! (Please don't literally bust it.) Help bring your favorite Muppet to the Final Four or even the championship round. And you thought college basketball was exciting! Puh-lease!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier