In 2010, [artist id="1241952"]Coheed and Cambria[/artist] entered [article id="1634081"]MTV's Musical March Madness[/article] as an unheralded 15 seed and quickly rattled off a series of startling upsets -- against #2 seed Paramore, #10 Mastodon, #6 Phish and #13 Alice in Chains -- to advance to the final four, where they outlasted Tokio Hotel in an epochal (and, some might say, fishy) battle to reach the [article id="1635413"]MMM championship game[/article].

And in that championship matchup, they outlasted a game [article id="1635611"]My Chemical Romance[/article] to claim the [article id="1636015"]MMM trophy[/article].

It was, to say the least, a shocking victory, one Coheed attributed to their fervent fanbase, and it set them up as automatic qualifiers in the 2011 tournament. And with the reveal of our full MMM bracket just days away (we'll unveil it on Monday), we caught up with C&C frontman Claudio Sanchez at his training compound in upstate New York to discuss his band's chances of repeating as champs. And from the sound of things, Sanchez isn't taking anything for granted this time around.

"Sometimes I don't really like setting myself up for defeat, you know?" he laughed.

It's a humility that most champions just don't possess. And while Sanchez still likes his band's chances -- even though they'll face stout challenges from the likes of [article id="1659311"]Linkin Park[/article], [article id="1659387"]Adele[/article] and Panic! at the Disco

"We've definitely got our fans in our corner," he said.

And after a few minutes of prodding, we got him to unleash a bit of that championship swagger ... an attitude that, when coupled with the support of their fans, once again make Coheed a favorite in the 2011 tourney.

"I'd like to think the band is much like the [Miami] Heat, in the fact that we have the Big Three, but, you know, there being four, I guess we're the Murderer's Row of this competition," he laughed. "We're just going to go in there and do our thing, and that's it."

MTV's 2011 Musical March Madness Tournament begins Monday, March 14, when we reveal the full field of 64 bands that will battle for the championship. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite act made the cut, it'll be up to you to guide them to glory. You can rally the troops on Twitter using the hashtag #MMM ... but get ready, it's gonna be a war.