In Person: The Final Four
Some thoughts on a great time in Indy this weekend...
-My dad pointed out that Indianans drive like they're Indy Car racers, and it's so true. They tailgate the crap out of each other. They race to red lights. It's quite hilarious, really.
-I've been to the Indy race track twice now, and it's worth a pilgrimage, even for non-racing fans like me. The place is massive. The stands for the crowd stretch so far down the road that you can't see the end of them. As we drove up, we had the radio on and the windows up, and we could still hear a single car going around the track, giving a couple laps to anyone willing to pay for it. The noise of 30 cars must be incredible. But I still am not interested in going to see it in person. You can't see the whole race because it's so big.
-Going to the Final Four, on the other hand, is well worth it, even if you don't have a dog in the fight. It helped to have a guide with Final Four experience like Fyall to explain what was typical for the event. One great dynamic that Fyall has seen before: the triangulation of fans. If you're a George Mason fan, you're hanging out with LSU and UCLA fans before the games, and absolutely hating any Florida fans. It works the same for all the other teams.
-Of course, at the game, LSU and UCLA were pulling for George Mason. The last time I saw an underdog embraced by the fans of the alternate-game teams was Southern Illinois in the Carrier Dome back in the late nineties. But this was even better. 3/4 of the stadium got on its feet when George Mason came on the court. At the end, even the Florida fans applauded George Mason. Great stuff.
-Brushed shoulders with the following: Steve Fischer (on the street), Tony Dungy (at the convention center), Peyton and Eli Manning (together on the suite level of the RCA dome).
-Also was the first in our group to spot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar walk into the arena and take a front row seat behind the press.
-If you ever have a chance to watch a game from a suite, take it. The free food and drink was unbelievable. I could get up at every TV timeout, grab some food or another drink, and get back well before the action picked back up. So great!
As for the games themselves, obviously a bit of a let-down. The George Mason game was captivating from start to finish because they never really gave up. The shots just weren't falling. I've never seen so many lay ups miss because they were too hard.
LSU, on the other hand, was terrible. We stayed the whole time, of course, but to amuse ourselves, Fyall and I named champions and runners up from past games. I can do from 1989 onwards. Impressive, considering I only started watching in 1992, when I was 10.
I'd say the Gators are more talented, but my pick for the final is UCLA for the following reasons:
1. Coaching: The Bruins are playing Ben Howland's game right now, and it's a beautiful thing to see. It's called Big East defense. Can the Big East take partial credit for a championship here? Billy Donovan loses a head-to-head coach-off, I think.
2. Momentum: Florida beat some good teams to get this far, but its UCLA that is coming off a far more decisive victory. Think of it this way. If you take one of the following away from the Gators, George Mason is right there with them last night: offensive rebounding, Lee Humphrey, the 3-pointer in general, all those Mason shots that went in and out. Remembering how much LSU cut into the lead after UCLA took its starters out, you really can't do the same for the Bruins.
-My dad pointed out that Indianans drive like they're Indy Car racers, and it's so true. They tailgate the crap out of each other. They race to red lights. It's quite hilarious, really.
-I've been to the Indy race track twice now, and it's worth a pilgrimage, even for non-racing fans like me. The place is massive. The stands for the crowd stretch so far down the road that you can't see the end of them. As we drove up, we had the radio on and the windows up, and we could still hear a single car going around the track, giving a couple laps to anyone willing to pay for it. The noise of 30 cars must be incredible. But I still am not interested in going to see it in person. You can't see the whole race because it's so big.
-Going to the Final Four, on the other hand, is well worth it, even if you don't have a dog in the fight. It helped to have a guide with Final Four experience like Fyall to explain what was typical for the event. One great dynamic that Fyall has seen before: the triangulation of fans. If you're a George Mason fan, you're hanging out with LSU and UCLA fans before the games, and absolutely hating any Florida fans. It works the same for all the other teams.
-Of course, at the game, LSU and UCLA were pulling for George Mason. The last time I saw an underdog embraced by the fans of the alternate-game teams was Southern Illinois in the Carrier Dome back in the late nineties. But this was even better. 3/4 of the stadium got on its feet when George Mason came on the court. At the end, even the Florida fans applauded George Mason. Great stuff.
-Brushed shoulders with the following: Steve Fischer (on the street), Tony Dungy (at the convention center), Peyton and Eli Manning (together on the suite level of the RCA dome).
-Also was the first in our group to spot Kareem Abdul-Jabbar walk into the arena and take a front row seat behind the press.
-If you ever have a chance to watch a game from a suite, take it. The free food and drink was unbelievable. I could get up at every TV timeout, grab some food or another drink, and get back well before the action picked back up. So great!
As for the games themselves, obviously a bit of a let-down. The George Mason game was captivating from start to finish because they never really gave up. The shots just weren't falling. I've never seen so many lay ups miss because they were too hard.
LSU, on the other hand, was terrible. We stayed the whole time, of course, but to amuse ourselves, Fyall and I named champions and runners up from past games. I can do from 1989 onwards. Impressive, considering I only started watching in 1992, when I was 10.
I'd say the Gators are more talented, but my pick for the final is UCLA for the following reasons:
1. Coaching: The Bruins are playing Ben Howland's game right now, and it's a beautiful thing to see. It's called Big East defense. Can the Big East take partial credit for a championship here? Billy Donovan loses a head-to-head coach-off, I think.
2. Momentum: Florida beat some good teams to get this far, but its UCLA that is coming off a far more decisive victory. Think of it this way. If you take one of the following away from the Gators, George Mason is right there with them last night: offensive rebounding, Lee Humphrey, the 3-pointer in general, all those Mason shots that went in and out. Remembering how much LSU cut into the lead after UCLA took its starters out, you really can't do the same for the Bruins.
posted by Prof. A at 10:59 PM
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