An annual spring tradition returns for the fifth consecutive year as we present our annual Helmet Madness tournament for fans to vote on their favorite football helmets from our coverage area.
The program will run over the next two weeks until a winner is crowned through fan voting. All voting will be conducted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) and will run for 24 hours during each round. In case of a tie, the higher seed advances. In the semifinal and championship rounds, a tie will trigger an overtime vote.
Our crew chose the helmets for this year’s bracket based on photos we had in our database from the 2023 season or previous seasons if they were unchanged. Seeding was based on each team’s playoff finish last year.
Before we do, though, we want to recognize a team that has been a big part of the first four years.
Honoring a juggernaut
In each of the first four years of this enterprise, one program has stood out when it comes to backing its cause.
DeKalb County has been in the final round in three of the first four years, nearly winning the inaugural version in 2020. Only an upset by Gordonsville in the 2021 semifinals kept the Tigers from being a finalist all four years running.
The last two years, they haven’t been stopped, winning each time to become the first two-time champion. So this year, we’re inducting DeKalb County as the first member of our Helmet Madness Hall of Fame and giving their outstanding fans a year off from needing to band together and vote like they always do.
We’ll see you in 2025 as a number-one seed, Tigers. And in future years, we’ll do the same for every team that successfully goes back-to-back. But it is time for a different school to earn the Spotlight Game visit that comes with winning the title, at least for this year.
And now, the brackets…
This year, we returned to the more traditional bracket-style format with 68 teams. Here’s how those brackets shake out (swipe to see each region):
We’ll have voting each day as follows:
- March 20: Play-in games
- March 21-24: First round (one region per day)
- March 25-26: Second round (two regions per day)
- March 27: Round of 16
- March 28: Quarterfinals
- March 29: Semifinals
- March 30: Championship
Today’s matchups:
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