It started with the greatest of ambitions.

The 68 teams were released for the NCAA March Madness tournament and you made your bracket with the utmost confidence.

No one has ever perfectly predicted a March Madness bracket. But that didn’t matter to you when you decided to fill out your own bracket because you’re not defined by the past. The odds of correctly predicting every game in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was about one in 128 billion. But that didn’t scare you because one in 128 billion meant there’s a chance.

Whether you knew everything or nothing about college basketball when you filled out a bracket with your predictions, you truly believed in your heart you could be the first to do the impossible and forecast a perfect bracket.

But much like a great empire, prosperity only lasts so long. The first day of Round 1 games finally came around and you quickly began to wonder if your bracket was going to stand the test of time.

Below are six stages from the fall of the once-great Roman Empire that (most likely) describe the fall of your once-great March Madness bracket:

1) Rome Advances but Loses its Emperor - ~179 A.D.

Rome: As Rome advances to Bohemia and the Carpathian Mountains in the Second Marcomanni War, Emperor Aurelius dies. It’s a give and take situation.

Your Bracket: Day 1 of Round 1 games. Your bracket takes a couple of L’s that you really hate to see (RIP Hokies basketball) but it’s doing well overall. You misjudged a couple of matchups between #8 and #9 seeds and miscalled some upsets. But most teams you picked to make deep runs are still alive in the tournament and you even called some upsets correctly. Your bracket still has a lot of potential.

2) Emperor Commodius' is Murdered - 192 A.D.

Rome: Nearly all of Emperor Commodius' reign over Rome is characterized by revolts from government officials and citizens until he is finally murdered in 192 A.D. Having their emperor murdered isn’t exactly ideal for the Roman people, but the empire is still the dominant power in the Western World. It’s not like Rome’s citizens voted for him anyway, so what’s the big deal? #NotMyEmperor

Your Bracket: Day 2 of Round 1 games. Some middle-seeded teams that you predicted to win end up losing and your bracket adds on a few more losses than you’d like it to have. However, your bracket is still looking pretty solid overall so there’s no need to panic just yet.

3) The Year of Internal Revolts - 193 A.D.

Rome: Roman government officials turn against one another causing unrest and division within the Empire. Several officials are even assassinated. Rome isn’t dead yet, but a fish rots from the head down and something smells fishy.

Your Bracket: Day 1 of Round 2 games. Villanova loses to Wisconsin. Okay, none of us were prepared for that one. Grab some Tylenol and sit down because this only really hurts. I mean, it is only one of eight games happening on this day so not all hope is lost. Yet, you can’t help but feel your stomach turning.

4) The Split of the Roman Empire– 285-305 A.D.

Rome: Diocletian splits the Roman Empire into the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire, resulting in citizens of the already-separated empire to take sides. Thus, dividing the empire even more.

Your Bracket: Day 2 of Round 2 games. About half the teams you picked to make a deep run are still in the tournament, but many other teams you picked to reach the Elite Eight or Final Four are now eliminated @Duke @Louisville. You do have some remaining teams in your bracket to cheer for, but still cheering for what’s left of your bracket is like cheering for chickens still running around with their heads cut off—you can tell they don’t have too much longer.

5) The Fall of the Eastern Empire of Rome – 378 A.D.

Rome: The Eastern Roman Empire succumbs to the Visigoths as the Romans are defeated at the Battle of Adrianople.

Your Bracket: Sweet Sixteen games. Most of your headless chickens like UCLA and Arizona have now fallen over dead and you’re reminiscing the sweet determination and optimism you felt before the tournament started. Just maintaining a respectable bracket is almost out of sight. Your self-esteem is probably better off if you don’t look back at your bracket anymore.

6) Rome Falls; the End of the Western Empire – 393 A.D.

Rome: Rome has now fallen to the Ostrogoths and is no longer is its own state. The Western Roman Empire ceases to exist. The Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy is established. #RIP

Your Bracket: Elite Eight games. South Carolina defeats Florida. Oregon defeats Kansas. While you probably gave up on your bracket at least a day or two ago, it’s safe to say she’s finally a goner by now. If you picked even just two of the Final Four teams correctly then your bracket is a Margot-Robbie-type of beautiful at this point.

Conclusively, it would be extremely exciting to predict a perfect bracket. But the uncertainty of March Madness is one of the most amazing spectacles in sports and is a flawless example of why we love sports. The only thing better than correctly selecting a perfect bracket is the guarantee of unpredictable madness we get to witness every single March.