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DataMan62 t1_jdtrnzd wrote

Reply to comment by prpslydistracted in The men's Sweet 16 field since 2000 visualized as the sum of total seeds [OC] by Roadkill_Bingo

If only you asked the web instead of other idiots like us …. “The term was first used in tennis, and is based on the idea of laying out a tournament ladder by arranging slips of paper with the names of players on them the way seeds or seedlings are arranged in a garden: smaller plants up front, larger ones behind.”

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prpslydistracted t1_jdtvnda wrote

As many times I asked that of the web ... never got close to an answer. I'll look deeper at your answer but it truly sounds like the real deal ...

Thanks for the input. This has bugged me for years.

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DataMan62 t1_je8loy5 wrote

I searched for “tournament seed etymology”. Not sure of the order of those three words and it suggested seeding rather than seed.

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DataMan62 t1_je8m5o5 wrote

I actually found a slight more satisfying answer, but I lost it before I posted that one. The other one said something about distributing seeds evenly around the garden. This language about ordering them in front and behind is less like what seeding actually is.

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