Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
One week ago today, 32 TV dads had a fighting chance to take home the title of “Best! Dad! Ever!” in Decider’s first ever bracket competition. Today, 24 of these very same fathers have tears in their beers after being eliminated by you, the voters, leaving only the Elite Eight of proud papas left standing.
Now that we’re at the halfway point of the Best! Dad! Ever! tournament, these are the eight proud patriarchs that remain in the competition: Al Bundy (Married With Children), Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show), Archie Bunker (All In The Family), Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones), Peter Griffin (Family Guy), Tim Taylor (Home Improvement), Tony Soprano (The Sopranos), and Ward Cleaver (Leave It To Beaver).
The trendline at this stage of the bracket is obvious: Longevity matters. In each of the Sweet Sixteen matchups (save one), the TV dad whose show premiered on air first prevailed. The only exception was Peter Griffin of Family Guy fame toppling Hank Hill (King Of The Hill); Hank was on air two years—KOTH premiered on January 12, 1997—before Peter Griffin and his Quahog clan arrived in January of 1999. In every other instance, though, seniority overcame popularity, as in the shocking upset of Fred Flintstone over Homer Simpson!
So, the Elite Eight matchups are set. You’ll only have 24 HOURS to vote in this round of the #BestDadEver bracket; the Final Four will be determined at noon tomorrow, Thursday, June 18.
ANIMATED DADS
#4 seed Fred Flintstone [Where to stream The Flintstones] vs. #2 seed Peter Griffin [Where to stream Family Guy]
VOTE ON FRED FLINTSTONE VS. PETER GRIFFIN
THOUGHTFUL DADS
#8 seed Andy Taylor [Where to stream The Andy Griffith Show] vs. #6 seed Ward Cleaver [Where to stream Leave It To Beaver]
VOTE ON ANDY TAYLOR VS. WARD CLEAVER
FUNNY DADS
#1 seed Al Bundy [Where to stream Married With Children] vs. #7 seed Tim Taylor [Where to stream Home Improvement]
VOTE ON AL BUNDY VS. TIM TAYLOR
TOUGH DADS
#1 seed Tony Soprano [Where to stream The Sopranos] vs. #3 seed Archie Bunker [Where to stream All In The Family]
VOTE ON TONY SOPRANO VS. ARCHIE BUNKER
GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE REMAINING DADS! Don’t forget, this round of voting closes at noon TOMORROW, Thursday, June 18—that’s less than 24 hours from now!—at which point we’ll have our Final Four.
