Growing up, I was always told my commercials that certain cereals were “part of a complete and balanced breakfast.”

That quote confused the hell out of me. My complete and balanced breakfast didn’t include cereal, milk, orange juice, toast, and eggs. Mine included about 3 bowls of some sort of sugary cereal. Cyclical as things are, as I get older I’m finding myself eating cereal again in the morning…and in the evening when I don’t feel like cooking.

So the obvious question now is: which cereal is the best? Since I broke down the best dunks of all time last week, I shall now break down the best things to dunk your spoon into this week. However, this time, I’m going tournament style.

With some help from Facebook friends and my own memories, I have seeded the tournament much like an NCAA tournament bracket Seeds 1-16. Much like the NCAA bracket, expect some upsets since my tastes may differ from yours.

Let the breakfast beatdown begin!

#1 Lucky Charms vs #16 Wheaties: It’s sort of ironic that the breakfast cereal known for athletics is a 16 seed in a sports-themed breakfast tournament, but dem’s the breaks. Wheaties put up a good fight and they’re good for you, but come on, it’s marshmallows shaped like horseshoes and clovers. Wheaties don’t have anything on that.

#8 Cinnamon Toast Crunch vs #9 Cinnamon Life: As usual, the hardest game to pick in the NCAA tournament is the hardest to pick in the cereal tournament. Both are cinnamon, both have a nice sharp taste to them, and both leave your milk tasting delicious. Cinnamon Life is a little healthier for you with less sugar, so it gets the nod, but just barely.

#4 Froot Loops vs #13 Cocoa Puffs: A classic chocolate vs fruity flavor battle. Despite the disparity in seeding, this matchup mostly comes down to preference. Do you prefer loops of fruit? Or balls of chocolate? I prefer the loops, and so froot moves on.

#5 Cheerios vs #12 Quaker Oh’s: Everyone knows Cheerios and has had it, and not many people know about Oh’s. Let me tell you, Oh’s are awesome. They’re little honey loops with some granola in the middle; they never get soggy and taste delicious (thanks to Courtney Brayson for the input). The time of Cheerios have come and gone. A classic 5-12 upset.

#6 Kix vs #11 Honeycomb: Kix: “Taste like awesome and mothers approve of it” (from Lauren Bratcher.) Honeycomb didn’t get any objective argument as to why they should win from Facebook (Sorry Molly, answers from the basement can’t be heard), so Kix wins.

#3 Honey Nut Cheerios vs #14 Rice Crispies – While it’s brother cheerios couldn’t handle the pressure. Honey Nut Cheerios comes out with flying colors.  Seriously, this cereal is great.  Rice Crispies unfortunately do not become good until you mix them with a lot of butter and marshmallows, and then bake them at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Otherwise, they’re just too plain.

#7 Captain Crunch vs #10 Frosted Mini Wheats: Frosted Mini Wheats might be the most underrated team in the tournament. They are delicious with just the right amount of frosting, and they’re pretty good for you. Captain Crunch tends to cut the roof of your mouth with its sharp edges. Buzz off, Captain Crunch.

#2 Frosted Flakes vs #15 Fruity Pebbles: A matchup much closer than originally expected, both cereals went limp down the stretch. (Get it…cause they both get really soggy in milk.) Fruity Pebbles start off strong, then make me feel like I’m in some sort of diabetic fit towards the end. Frosted Flakes get close to that feeling, but don’t quite make it, so they come up as victors.

So round 1 is in the books! A couple of upsets in there and some might pick others…but I decide, at least for the first two rounds. On to round 2:

#1 Lucky Charms vs #9 Cinnamon Life: Lucky Charms is classic. It’s got the oats and the marshmallows, it’s got the mascot, and it’s got longevity (I mean even our parents tend to like Lucky Charms. Or at least liked it when they were kids). Cinnamon Life has a yellow box and kind of looks like Chex. I love Cinnamon Life, and will eat it more often than not. They don’t have a mascot, and they don’t have any cool theme song. I’m gonna have to give the nod to the #1 seed on a buzzerbeater. Lucky Charms, you have moved on.

#4 Froot Loops vs #12 Quaker Oh’s: The little known competitor Oh’s meets a buzzsaw here. Look, Oh’s has a lot going for it. It tastes good, has a bit of an underground following (in the sense that it’s not that easy to find) and still doesn’t get soggy in your milk. All that is well and good, but Froot Loops have been too dominant for too long. They’ve got the commercials, the taste, the mascot and the following to move on. Froot Loops move on in a landslide.

#3 Honey Nut Cheerios vs #6 Kix: Another buzzsaw. Even Buzz the Bee for Honey Nut Cheerios couldn’t hold this one off. Kix might not have the flashy box, the mascot, or the cartoon commercials, but it does have one huge thing going for it, and that’s taste.  Somehow, someway they pack a bunch of flavor into those little yellow puffs.  The Cheerios is great, don’t get me wrong.  I like the flavor, I like the mascot, and I like that the voice of Fry from Futurama is the same voice of Buzz the Bee. Even with all of those things coming together, Kix comes out on fire and stays on fire. (Not literally, we don’t want a Simpsons joke to break out here)

#2 Frosted Flakes vs #10 Frosted Mini Wheats: Once again, a flashy cereal with a cartoon mascot and a low key, solid tasting cereal. In the previous round, Frosted flakes made it through because they were slightly less likely to cause a sugar overload.  However in this one, the exact right amounted of frosted comes from the little wheat bites. I love eating Mini Wheats because I feel like a kid with the frosting, and an adult eating shredded wheat. Tony the Tiger might think that they’re great…but to me, THEYYYRRRREE GONE…from this tournament.

So that’s the first two rounds. Now I will call upon you, faithful At The Buzzer readers/listeners, to help me decide the champion of all cereals for all time! Coming up we have #1 Lucky Charms vs #4 Froot Loops and then #6 Kix vs #10 Frosted Mini Wheats. Leave messages on our Facebook page, or email me at David@atthebuzzershow.com with your case of what should win. I’ll take all of those into account and my own opinions to announce the grand champion (along with reasons) next week! Til then, as always, stay tuned.