The Tournament of Cuteness

Let the games begin!

Last week in an entry about how we all think our own pet or baby is the cutest of all pets and babies, I decided to create a Tournament of Cuteness. The blog will continue as usual, but included in each daily entry will be at least one head-to-head matchup for you to vote on.

You can play along by downloading or printing the following bracket.

A few notes about how this is going to work:

  • The winner of each matchup will be determined by voting. The polls for each round will remain open until the following Sunday at noon CST. For example, this week there are a number of matchups because it’s the first round. The polls will be released on different days this week, but they’re all open until Sunday at noon. The only exception to this is that the final matchup will take place over 3 days, and I’ll announce the winner the following day.
  • Matchups were determined “randomly.” After I collected all the photos, I sorted them by date taken and used that order to determine the matchups. If you doubt the validity of the process, look at the dog that’s going against Biddy. She’s adorable. There’s no way I’d match that puppy against Biddy if I had a choice.
  • You’ll note that it’s somewhat difficult to judge cuteness when you’re comparing animals to humans. I would suggest the Squeal Test (which photo makes you squeal louder), the Hold Test (which creature you want to hold more), and the Goo-Goo Test (which photo you find yourself talking to in baby talk).
  • There were a total 0f 27 entries (10 dogs, 9 cats, and 8 kids, including one of me as a baby from my mother). This means that there are a number of head-to-head-to-head matchups in the first two rounds.
  • [EDIT] I thought this might go without saying, but each person may only vote once.
  • Fellow bloggers: If you want me to link your child/pet’s photo to your blog, let me know and I’ll take care of it.

Without further ado, I present to you the first three matchups in the 2011 Tournament of Cuteness!

 

Jasmin
Bindi
Lily

 

Lacey Lu
Laya

 

Tessi
Biddy

May the cutest creature win! Oh, and if you look at these photos and think, “My child or pet is way cuter than these creatures,” go ahead and submit a photo to me at jamey.stegmaier@gmail.com while it’s fresh on your mind. I’m thinking I’ll do a 2012 Tournament of Cuteness  where I’ll pit new photos of this year’s contestants against people who wished they would have entered. So I’ll need at least 27 new entries!

28 thoughts on “The Tournament of Cuteness”

  1. I have no shame in putting in a plug for my own pet.

    Before you cast a vote for Tessi, a dog that was apparently bred to melt hearts and make Dick Cheney smile, consider this:

    In Biddy’s photo, you are looking at a cat putting his little furry arm around a human. Picture yourself in bed, and imagine a purring ginger tabby leaning against you and placing his paw over your heart as he nuzzles into your side.

    Consider that when you vote.

    Reply
      • Tessie’s Boyfriend,

        That appears to be the trend. Tessie has powerful friends! They voted for her in droves!

        Jamey

        Reply
        • I can’t believe Biddy is falling behind! That dog Tessi has a face that I just don’t trust. How could anyone not vote for a cat that gives such loving hugs???

          Reply
          • It is a little suspicious that so many more votes have been cast in the Tessie/Biddy contest. It’s possible that someone has been refreshing their IP address and is just voting over and over again, but more likely, Tessie’s just a really cute dog with lots of friends!

            Reply
            • Jamey,

              You didn’t hear it from me… but Cathy Modde is paying off her friends to vote for Tessie! Thought you should know. She’s a shameless “stage mother.”

              All my best,

              Ken
              (aka “Tessie’s Boyfriend)

              Reply
            • Why the sudden boost? Because I just put the word out to Tessie’s many admiring fans last night! I figured they would want to help their girl win her first title for beauty/cuteness.

              Reply
              • Jamey:

                Loved your “rationale bullet.”

                Cathy:

                You’re still a “stage mother.” So there.

                Fondly,

                KJA

  2. Maybe I missed it, but is there a rule about only voting once? I question the high number of votes received prior to 7 AM.

    Reply
    • Thanks Trev–I probably should have specified that (although WordPress won’t let you vote twice anyway). A ton of votes came in last night as soon as I posted it, and based on the variety of votes I saw, I don’t think anyone is voting more than once. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Like facebook profile pictures, I do not think photos of animals and humans should be allowed – sometimes I wasn’t sure which creature in the photo I was supposed to be voting for. Also, I’m sorry Jamey but you should have gone all out and used baby Biddy, no one can resist that!

    Reply
  4. I’m so overwhelmed with cuteness! I don’t know what to do with myself.

    And Jamey, I’m sorry, but I voted for Tessi. I just can’t look away from the cute puppy dog face! I want to hold it, snuggle with it, and put it in a dino costume. It would be such a cute dino doggy!

    Reply
  5. Ahh! I totally missed the deadline! I guess I’ll just have to make do with the cuteness of everyone else’s pets and kids. Good thing too–Charlotte would have strategically taken you all out one by one, like she was in The Hunger Games or something. 🙂

    Reply
    • The Hunger Games of Cuteness! That would be amazing. Sorry Charlotte didn’t make the deadline. Next year 🙂

      Reply

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