[diydesign]

Round 5:

Winners Bracket:

Fairfield

Stonington

Milford

Madison

Ridgefield

Litchfield

New Haven

Old Saybrook


Losers Bracket:

Note: All Towns that got demoted to the Losers Bracket in Round 4 are still in the tournament; but we will not see them officially enter the Bracket until Round 7. These towns are: Woodbridge, Greenwich, Farmington, Middletown, Southbury, Newtown, Avon, Weston, Chester, Norwalk, Trumbull, Simsbury, Kent, Stamford, Wallingford, and Wilton.

Haddam

Groton

Oxford

Marlborough

Thomaston

Bethlehem

Canton

Cheshire

Durham

Southington

Darien

Granby

New Milford

Salem

Colebrook

West Haven

Bethel

Middlebury

Waterford

North Branford

Hamden

Roxbury

Salisbury

Cromwell

Deep River

Redding

Lyme

Brookfield

Woodstock

Bridgewater

Westbrook

New Canaan

[Danny K]

Here We Go


Winners Bracket:

Fairfield vs Old Lyme - Like I mentioned last round, Old Lyme is a beautiful town but just too rural and hardly anything there. Fairfield is way more well-rounded, better beaches, and has quite more charm as well, especially in the western part of the town. As beautiful as Old Lyme is, it is just very bare, and hardly even has much of a downtown.

Stonington vs Westport - Tough call. Both are great towns. However, Downtown Westport can get really crowded at times, and it's not super charming. The two main things that keep Westport a top 10 town for me are: Sherwood island State Park & Longshore Club Park. Stonington narrowly wins for me though mainly because of much of Mystic, as well as the Stonington Borough. Not many people talk about this, but Mason's Island is also very beautiful addition to Stonington.

Milford vs West Hartford - Sorry West Hartford, it's over. Milford pretty much has every attractive thing that makes West Hartford a great town, plus a lot more. Much nicer downtown with more charm, great beaches, some of the best ice cream in the state, and great restaurants. Both towns actually have a lot of great restaurants, but there are some very special ones that Milford has: Seven Seas, Eli's Tavern, Bonfire Grill, Founders House, and Mac N Out. Seriously Mac N Out has the best Macaroni and Cheese that I've ever had. It is sooooo good. I also love the Boardwalk and Audubon Center.

Madison vs Essex - This is extremely tough, but I can't vote against the town that has the BEST beach in the state this early. Essex might be my favorite non-coastal town with the Steam Train & Riverboat, as well as a very great downtown, but the Surf Club is such a special and unique beach that I dearly love. Both have pretty good restaurants. Madison coastline around the Surf Club area is also extremely beautiful and has some really amazing and rich houses to look at and walk around the streets! There are also some really nice hiking trails in far northern Madison.

Guilford vs Ridgefield - Easy. Ridgefield is a really nice town, but doesn't compare to Guilford; arguably my favorite town in the whole state.

Litchfield vs Branford - Also a very tough matchup. However, I agree with what ProudFairfielder was saying earlier, I think Branford is quite underrated in this tournament. It is a very well rounded town with LOTS of restaurants. Downtown is nice; not the best in the state, but it's unique. The real thing that makes Branford very special is Stony Creek & The Thimble Islands. It's really beautiful around there. My cousin and I have a tradition where we'll often get some Apizza from on of the New Haven places, and then take it and eat it around the Stony Creek Area!!! Litchfield is really nice too, and is quite charming with great green, and some of the best ice cream in the state, but there isn't really nearly as much there as there is in Branford. Also I've said this many times, and I still don't get it as to why Litchfield gets so much hype on here. Yes, it is nice, and a great town, but there isn't a substantial amount of amenities there. I'd probably get bored after a while.

New Haven vs Glastonbury - Had to have a huge thought about this one. Glastonbury is great and has a lot of nature, but New Haven has amazing architecture and is one of my favorite cities in the whole country if not my favorite. Really tough to beat the home of apizza, Yale University, and just some great iconic restaurants. I'm not 100% positive on this, but I think NH might also have the best Mexican food in the state. There are a few Mexican food trucks around Long Wharf area that are surprisingly quite authentic.

Old Saybrook vs East Lyme - Also a tough one, but Old Saybrook is just more upscale and is prettier all around. I do love Rocky Neck State Park and Niantic, but Fenwick is one of the most beautiful areas in the state. Also I love the feel to Downtown Old Saybrook. It's a bit more spread out and maybe doesn't have the charm of other downtowns, but it really does have a touristy area feeling and unique vibe to it. I also must admit, that East Lyme doesn't feel as special to me as it used to back when Smarty's Restaurant & Pub in Niantic was there. It is nothing special, but I have fond memories there as it used to be a regular place I'd go to with different family members, and the food quality was some of the best I've had at pubs in particular. More of a personal attachment that I had rather than something special I would recommend to others, but Niantic has just never felt the same without that place.


Losers Bracket:

East Hampton vs Haddam - Not much of a difference between those towns, but Haddam has parts on both sides of the CT River.

Groton vs Killingworth - All the way

Oxford vs Burlington - Mainly for Rich Farms Ice Cream, LOL. Oxford is a nice rural town though as well.

Portland vs Marlborough - Very tough, but Portland wins for me because of Brownstone Amusement Park!

East Haddam vs Thomaston - Just more nature

Monroe vs Bethlehem - Litchfield County Charm

Canton vs Goshen - Outlets and Collinsville

Cheshire vs North Haven - Not as in love with Cheshire as others. Similar to Avon for me, kind of a nice town but nothing that special. I take North Haven due to proximity reasons to New Haven.

Easton vs Durham - Not a huge fan of Upper Fairfield County. Kind of many upscale towns with not much amenities.

Southington vs Mansfield - UConn. Southington is Meh to me.

Darien vs Sharon - Coastal

Wethersfield vs Granby - Grass Roots Creamery

New Milford vs Tolland - Slightly Better Nature

Colchester vs Salem - I love the town of Colchester to be honest. The downtown feels like a small village, and almost like one large community. Unique feeling and vibe.

Washington vs Colebrook - Easy Pick.

New London vs West Haven - Tough one, but New London has more history, plus the Ocean Beach Park. Honestly, I am not sure if West Haven would make it this far if not for Zuppardi's Pizza. That alone seems to be carrying the whole town in this tournament.

Bethel vs Ellington - Nicer overall

Danbury vs Middlebury - Just the city with more amenities. Neither town is that inspiring to me.

Waterford vs Barkhamsted - Quite tough, because I do LOVE the beauty and nature of Barkhamsted. However, Waterford is coastal and Harkness is really nice! Waterford probably just has a bit too much for me to pick Barkhamsted, despite it being in my Top 25 at the very least.

Shelton vs North Branford - Mainly for the amenities and easy proximity to things. North Branford is nice with a few great farms but not a lot there.

Clinton vs Hamden - Mainly for the outlets and coast.

New Fairfield vs Roxbury - New England Charm

Salisbury vs Norfolk - Beautiful Mountains & Elevation

Cromwell vs Watertown - Like the location better

Deep River vs South Windsor - Pretty hidden gem. Underrated town if you ask me.

North Stonington vs Redding - North Stonington is just Meh

Lyme vs Berlin - Lyme is very rural, but I appreciate the nature of the town.

Brookfield vs Hartford - The Capitol

Woodbury vs Woodstock - Really nice town in the Quiet Corner

Bridgewater vs Hebron - Love the woods and forest area

Westbrook vs Ashford - Sorry Ashford. Ashford is nice, but Westbrook has more and is coastal.

New Canaan vs Orange - More so backlash against New Canaan, but Orange also has a decent downtown and great proximity to things.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Danny K

Announcement:

Hey Everyone,
RogerAnthony pointed out something very important to me. In one of the losers bracket fixtures: East Haddam vs Thompson is INCORRECT. It is supposed to be East Haddam vs Thomaston.

Therefore for all previous votes before this post, I am setting that fixture back to 0-0. Please re-vote again for that specific fixture of East Haddam vs Thomaston.

And one of Stylo or Jay, could you please fix this in my original post for Round 5?

I corrected it. JayCT, Moderator

[Danny K]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I corrected it. JayCT, Moderator

Awesome, Thanks!

[Danny K]

I am curious, why are people choosing Southington over Mansfield? It's not super surprising or anything, but I just feel that Southington is an average working class town while Mansfield has UConn. Am I missing something?

[WestRiverTraveler]

Originally Posted by Danny K

I am curious, why are people choosing Southington over Mansfield? It's not super surprising or anything, but I just feel that Southington is an average working class town while Mansfield has UConn. Am I missing something?

Mansfield has UConn and not much else. It's probably the biggest reason I went to UMass instead of UConn. I've never liked the campus and Storrs doesn't offer much. It's also far from any decent metro area. Southington has Mt. Southington, some decent hiking, and proximity to Hartford and New Haven.

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by Danny K

I am curious, why are people choosing Southington over Mansfield? It's not super surprising or anything, but I just feel that Southington is an average working class town while Mansfield has UConn. Am I missing something?

I am anti-college town so I'd never pick a place because it has a college, quite the opposite. But if I can ignore that, Mansfield over Southington (this is not my official vote though)

[RogerAnthony]

Originally Posted by Danny K

I am curious, why are people choosing Southington over Mansfield? It's not super surprising or anything, but I just feel that Southington is an average working class town while Mansfield has UConn. Am I missing something?

Southington is a beautiful town with a nice little downtown, hiking trails, public parks, etc.


Mansfield is UConn. That isn't a plus.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

Southington is a beautiful town with a nice little downtown, hiking trails, public parks, etc.


Mansfield is UConn. That isn't a plus.

Agreed

[StevieB160]

Southington has Mount Southington, part of Lake Compounce, part of ESPN, the Apple Harvest Festival week, a real downtown, hiking on both the western and eastern ridges of town, and highway access that can very quickly get you to other nearby towns. Also, there are some spectacular houses off of Mount Vernon Road. There are lunatics on the Town Council but besides that...