ST. LOUIS – Bracket season is right around the corner, though it appears thousands can’t wait until March Madness for some form of bracketology.

Coincidentally, St. Louis is at the center of the latest bracket challenge going viral online.

Earlier this month, a Twitter account titled “TheSpanishFlu” (handle @_fat_ugly_rat_) launched a series of polls for users to select “American cities.” It didn’t come with any specific set of criteria or instructions. The polls, dating back to as early as Jan. 11, simply allowed observers to select a city based on whatever qualifications they had in mind.

Believe it or not, St. Louis has made it all the way to the final round of voting.

The last leg of the “American cities” bracket challenge is running through approximately 10:30 a.m. CT Wednesday. Twitter users have the opportunity to vote for St. Louis. It will be a tall order for bragging rights in the “American cities” bracket, as St. Louis has to outlast a common rival, at least in the sports spectrum. Chicago.

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, votes appear near split between the two cities with Chicago holding a slight advantage. Again, no specific criteria has been issued for these polls other than to select a city.

There have been plenty of interesting contests and perhaps some upsets along the way. Most recently, St. Louis topped New York in a Round 5 poll that ended Sunday afternoon. The Gateway City topped The Big Apple by a 54% to 46% vote.

Throughout the journey, St. Louis has also pulled off the following victories:

• Round 4: St. Louis over Austin, Texas (64.9% to 35.1%)
• Round 3: St. Louis over San Antonio, Texas (63.9% to 36.1%)
• Round 2: St. Louis over McAllen, Texas (76.5% to 23.5%)
• Round 1: St. Louis over Columbus, Ohio (52.3% to 47.7%)

In a matter of a few days, St. Louis topped THREE cities from Texas. The account runner, who states he is from Schertz, Texas, even weighed in on some of the victories. “Man St. Louis twitter is really annoying, but they definitely are dedicated to the bit,” said the organizer.

How much have these polls gained traction? So much that Missouri U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D – District 1) even quoted the tweet with the Round 5 poll via Twitter and asked followers to “Vote STL!”

That, in short, summarizes the journey of St. Louis in this random, yet popular “American cities” poll. Now, it all comes down to a battle with Chicago for the crown.