Those of you who have raised your pitchforks at us over the last few rounds of our contest might want to keep your torches lit. Pope McCorkle III, the Duke University public policy professor who earned a one-seed from us but vitriol from many of you, has won the People's vote for the 2016 Name of the Year.
McCorkle, who friends and family call "Mac" and who we've started referring to as "P-Mc3," gained steam as he rolled through the 2016 ballot. From his perch atop the Sithole Regional, he excommunicated Mssrs. Comizio, Cats, Schwing, and Tips to advance to the Final Four. Once there, he completed his performance with impressive victories over a pair of fan favorites, Tillmann Buttersack and Sweet Orefice, to claim the title. He will now be canonized alongside past NOTY champions.
We understand that many of you are upset with the voting record of your fellows, but we hope the historic nature of P-Mc3's victory can be appreciated by all. He is the first one-seed to claim the NOTY title since undisputed champion Vanilla Dong stomped through the 2007 bracket, and he is the first ever victor whose name carries the title "III" at its end. In his triumph, he upholds the legacy of Neptune Pringle III, Cantwell Faulkner Muckenfuss III, and all the other IIIs who came before him.
Hopefully that historical context helps the NOTY voting base share P-Mc3's triumph. If you're still not a fan, you might find our High Committee choice more up your alley, if we ever get around to holding that vote. In the meantime, we can only extend our thanks. If you came out and voted in this year's contest, we salute you. Hopefully you'll all be back for 2017. Follow us on Twitter for updates.