Many a man has traveled to San Diego and been so inspired by our sunny weather and sparkling ocean they've made some rash decisions. But imagine being so inspired by America's Finest City you pick an underdog like San Diego State to win it all in your March Madness bracket.
Ella Ratnayake -- who is just four years old -- is likely one of a select few who made the choice and still have a chance to win their March Madness pool. (Her bracket is named "Rainbow Unicorns," by the way.)
All-Star Aztecs
When the tournament kicked off a few weeks ago, San Diego State had 60-1 odds to win the whole thing. Now, the Aztecs will be playing in their first national championship game. The Huskies are favored by 7.5 poits. Prior to this season, the Aztecs had never made it beyond the Sweet 16.
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So how did this four-year-old from Delaware make such a mighty fine prediction? That's thanks to her family's recent trip to San Diego. She visited the San Diego Zoo, swam in the Pacific Ocean and was so in awe of her first big vacation, she selected San Diego State to go all the way.
At first, her parents, Hiran and Maggie Ratnayake, didn't think much of Ella's predictions but there was a turning point where the started to pay attention.
"I remember watching San Diego state come back against Alabama and we switched the channel and we started getting really into it," Hiran Ratnayake said. "When they won, we were really all in as Aztecs fans, even though I’m a Penn State alumni and she’s a Maryland alumni."
There is one problem holding Ella back from seeing her Aztecs take home the trophy -- her 7 p.m. EST bedtime.
"Saturday night, she was awoken by some cheering from downstairs as we were watching the [Aztecs-Florida Atlantic] game," Maggie Ratnayake said. "So that might happen again and she'll come down and join us.”
Ella has San Diego State winning the championship game 100 to 8. If she gets the score prediction right, too, we may have a "Back to the Future" sportsbook situation on our hands. But who's to say? She's been right so far.
