Inflatable Mania 2013: See the Sweet 16 spirit tunnels in North Texas

When we asked fans to begin casting their votes a little more than a week ago, they did not shy away from getting their schools promoted in the Inflatable Mania 2013 contest.

With the new format to the tournament this year, voting was important, but it also afforded us a way to break up the inflatables, tunnels, helmets and mascots into some different formats.

Fan votes determined the seeding with the opening round of voting on Sept. 26 setting the top 10 "automatic qualifiers."

We then took the next 12 highest vote-getters, which included fan write-in Denton Guyer and did a series of head-to-head matchups to see which teams would stay in the hunt.

Next, we used the fan votes from these head-to-head matches to determine seeding for these play-in teams in the overall tournament.

So without further ado, we present to you, Inflatable Mania 2013's Sweet 16.

SOUTHERN REGIONAL

RED OAK - 1: The overall No. 1 team was Red Oak high school. The massive hawk-tunnel hybrid design may not seem too big in the photos, but the district decided to show us first-hand the immensity of the tunnel, which comfortably parks a Jeep Commander inside it.

MESQUITE HORN - 2: Horn's Jag tunnel is a simple design, but whatever magic it works has helped the team come roaring onto the field each week. Fans gave this tunnel some love during the initial round en route to a No. 5 seed and automatic qualification.

PROSPER - 3: One of the favorites from last year's inflatable tournament got a new facelift for 2013, adding some silver to the color scheme. While the early fan vote was not friendly for the Eagles, Prosper nation came out big in the play-in round, landing it in the Sweet 16.

ARLINGTON BOWIE - 4: Sneaking in just ahead of Duncanville in a tightly contested play-in round was Arlington Bowie's BBAW helmet. It will be paired with the No. 1 overall Red Oak in this round of the tournament.

WESTERN REGIONAL

SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE - 1: The Warriors with their Florida State Seminoles inspired helmet decoration pulled in the No. 2 overall seed, and top honors in a very exciting Western Region.

MIDLOTHIAN - 2: The Panthers are back in business after a respectable first round of fan voting to secure a No. 8 overall ranking. This will pit them with a mid-cities neighbor to the north in the Sweet 16.

EULESS TRINITY - 3: Two different sections of the bracket have automatic qualifiers facing each other due to the 1-10 ranks, and Trojan Pete will have to pull the narrow upset to move into the Elite 8.

CORSICANA - 4: The colorful tiger head was another deep runner from the 2012 tournament, but it will now have to continue its run of luck from the play-in round if it hopes to keep advancing.

EASTERN REGIONAL

MESQUITE - 1: Stormy the Mosquito, the beloved mascot of the Mesquite Skeeters, is different in that it isn't actually a run-through, but just a giant inflatable. Regardless, the giant mosquito won the hearts of fans to be the top seeded team in the east.

WYLIE - 2: AHMO's pirate skull, the reigning champion from 2012 has a pretty deep hole to dig out of if it expects to repeat. A No. 6 overall seed upon entering the tournament, Wylie has its work cut out for it.

DENTON GUYER - 3: Guyer's Wildcat was the fan write-in candidate from the opening round, and as such gets the rough geographic placement in the bracket. This happens in March when basketball teams get placed on opposite coasts, and in the Inflatable Sweet 16, it has happened again.

ROWLETT - 4: The TOI Eagle is back again, but it faces an uphill battle against Mesquite. Like in 2012, Rowlett is hanging by a thread in Inflatable Mania.

NORTHERN REGIONAL

FLOWER MOUND - 1:  The Jaguars helmet is a perfect match with the navy and grey the players wear as they storm onto the field.

GRAPEVINE - 2: The Mustang Corral is another one of the automatic qualifiers that really has shown an element of creativity with the standard tunnel design. Will it have what it takes to advance to the Elite 8 though?

ALLEN - 3: The lowest ranking team of the automatic qualifiers is the Allen Eagles run-through. Perhaps the fans didn't come out to the polls right away during the opening round of votes, but it is now the chance for Allen to soar in the bracket.

GARLAND - 4: The Owl, which was a relatively late newcomer in 2012 after being unveiled during the season is back in the tournament again. The 30-plus foot wingspan makes the inflatable intimidating and artistic.

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