 San Antonio the best
site?Many friends have asked me over the years what my
favorite venue is for the Final Four. The answer is quite easy.
Since they took Seattle (it would have been a close second) out of
the rotation (the Kingdome was replaced by an outdoor stadium), San
Antonio is by far the best venue, and whatever city is now voted
second isn't even close!
San Antonio has it all. Hotels and restaurants are close by. The
climate, the weather, the environment ... can't be beat. The people
are incredibly friendly and helpful. In fact, San Antonio is
so nice it might even be able to give Lincoln a run for its money.
If the NCAA gave me a vote (and that is unlikely to happen
any time soon), I would vote to make San Antonio the permanent home
of the men's basketball championship.
I guess if you had access to my
ballot of the top 10 sites that I have personally been involved
with, it would look something like this:
-
San Antonio, Texas
-
Seattle, Wash.
-
Tampa-St. Pete, Fla.
-
St. Louis, Mo.
-
New York, N.Y.
-
Charlotte, N.C.
-
Minneapolis, Minn.
-
Atlanta, Ga.
-
New Orleans, La.
-
Indianapolis, Ind.
Now keep in mind I mean no disrespect to any city that may appear
to be ranked too low. Also, keep in mind that I am not the typical
basketball fan when I attend the event. The vast majority are hoop
junkies who only want to eat, sleep and drink basketball the whole
time. I actually only want to do that during the games. The entire
rest of the time is to spend time with friends and family members,
eat food I probably wouldn't eat in Illinois or Wisconsin, and visit
as many local sights as is humanly possible (more on that later).
At least two cities that hosted title games that I was not able
to attend, Denver and Albuquerque, would also rank very high on my
list. We're also going to Houston soon, and that is a pretty good
venue. In addition, look for Phoenix to be chosen as a site in the
near future, and they would immediately vault into my top four!
Local flavor
So, what is there to do in San Antonio? It would take a week to
tell you. I guess you could say that it all starts and ends with the
River Walk
right downtown. I think it is a part of the San Antonio river
system, but don't hold me to that. You can take a boat taxi or,
better yet, a boat tour through the city that is as unique and fun
as any other tour in the country! Some of my all-time favorite
restaurants are on this River Walk.
Then, of course, a history nut like me would tell you to visit
the Alamo. I think my first recollection of ever hearing about it
was the old John Wayne movie. But to go there, take the tour and
hear what happened is just a special experience. It is one of my
favorite historical places that I have ever visited. Not to mention
that according to my son, they have some of the best toys! (I
brought him home a Davy Crockett pop gun and some plastic men
representing both armies, and he's already got them set up in our
living room -- company, beware.)
There is a spectacular indoor-outdoor market, the architecture
gives you that feel of the Old West -- stone streets and buildings,
trolleys, etc. -- just a great place to roam.
There are also some great churches in the area. We attended Oak
Hills on Sunday and got to hear the noted author Max Lucado speak. I
had heard him several times before, but he was never better. If
you're in town and he's scheduled to speak, you won't regret driving
out there. Former college and NBA great David Robinson is one of the
ministers on their staff.
Speaking of driving... We drove out to Johnson City, Texas, on
Monday and visited the boyhood home of Lyndon Baines Johnson, our
former president. From there we drove the 15 minutes out to the LBJ
ranch and boarded a tour bus that took us out to the "Texas White
House." They still farm cattle, longhorns, sheep, goats, etc. It is
the Texas Hill Country and it is much more beautiful than I had
imagined... It's like Illinois farmland on steroids ... with cliffs,
hills, more trees, etc. It also served as a journey back through
some of our childhood memories, as President Johnson was in office
during our childhood years.
Why we were there
I guess I should say a few things about the basketball since that
is what drew us there in the first place. For those of you who don't
know, I used to be a basketball coach. I'm old and it was a long
time ago, so I don't expect many people to care now since probably
not many cared then. When I retired from the game I retained my
membership in the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
Probably a dumb thing to do, but after going through winter,
especially one like this one, I really look forward to wasting a
week of hard-earned vacation on college basketball.
This year's experience for us took on a life all its own. Some of
you know that a friend of mine, former Lincoln resident Craig
Zastrow, and I meet and spend the week together during Final Four
week. Now that we are colleagues, it's easier to meet up to get
away. Some of you also know that we don't always go to the games.
We're not guaranteed tickets since we retired from the game, and if
we don't like the teams playing ... let's just say that sometimes we
don't try too hard to get tickets... In fact, I remember one Final
Four where we did so much golfing and sightseeing I'm not sure that
you could've proved it by us that there were even any basketball
games going on ... but I digress. And this was shaping up to
be such a year since we only really cared about one of the teams
that made it (I'll let you guess as to what team that was -- no
hints).
However, do you remember playing Monopoly as a kid? Do you
remember the card that said, "Bank errors in your favor. Collect
$200"? That actually happened to me/us ... and that kind of stuff
never happens to me. Well, as I told you earlier, we're not
guaranteed tickets ... but somebody, somewhere made a mistake, and
the next thing we knew is that we not only had tickets, but that
they were pretty good ones at that. I knew that there had been a
mistake, so I asked a high-ranking official, who happens to be a
friend, how I should go about making it right (I believe you must do
that even if the checkout girl only gives you one penny too much).
BTW, I have always found that honesty pays even richer dividends
down the road than any setback or reward that happens
initially. This incident was just such a case. As this official
examined the evidence, he proclaimed that the error was in our
favor.
I know many of you will laugh at this, but I believe that God
intervened. I have been through some stuff the last few years, and
sometimes it is hard to stay positive. Moments like this remind me
that he's in control, not me, and that even my best laid plans are
so far exceeded by his that it isn't even funny. All I could do was
laugh ... while watching four games from some pretty good seats.
Four games?
I know the bright, astute fans among you immediately called my
story into question when I just stated that we watched four games.
You're going to retort that there are only three games -- the two
semifinal games on Saturday and the championship on Monday. Au
contraire! What you may not know is that this year (and I believe it
was for the very first time), the NABC had their annual college
all-star game at the Final Four venue. I believe that it was one of
the best decisions the NABC and the NCAA have ever made.
Anyway, to make a long story longer, Illinois' Brian Randle was
selected to compete in the all-star game. We didn't get to see him
the night before in the dunk contest because the last few years
we've only been able to get away for five days instead of a whole
week (I know you're feeling sorry for me), but we wanted to see him
in the game. He played for the American squad, which was coached by
retiring South Carolina coach Dave Odom.
Randle got to see an adequate amount of playing time and
acquitted himself well amongst the all-stars. He scored four points
and pulled down six rebounds. That is incredible when you factor in
that just a few weeks ago after a huge foul on a Wisconsin player
(that BTW went un-whistled???) Randle was left thinking that his
shoulder was busted up and that his season was over. He sure has
played well since returning to action.
Although his team ended up losing to the national squad 106-100,
he arguably made the play of the game. With his team in transition,
Brian came crashing in to follow up a missed shot by one of his
teammates and threw down a thunderous dunk. That brought a standing
ovation from the over 5,000 patrons (actually they all got in
free) gathered for the contest!
On a personal note, I was very happy for Brian to have that
moment. He has fought through injury and adversity way too much in
his career, and I only wish him the best for his future.
We couldn't have been closer to the action unless we had gone to
the scorer's table and checked into the game! That was fun.
We weren't nearly that close for the two games on Saturday, but
they were just as fun. Two great games with four great teams ... and
I hate to say it, but probably the best four teams in the nation. It
looked to us that UCLA just ran out of gas. They never seemed to be
clicking and just didn't look like they were in sync. Memphis, on
the other hand, looked as athletic as any team we had ever seen on
the final weekend.
In the other marquee matchup, Kansas just overwhelmed Carolina.
They came out like a team on a mission and just opened up a can on
the Tar Heels in the first half. Carolina fought back, got back into
the game and even had their chances to take it to the wire. But they
expended so much energy coming back from a colossal deficit that
they didn't have anything in reserve to finish the comeback. That
meant we'd be back at the Dome Monday night for Kansas versus
Memphis, a clash of the Titans.
[to top of second column] |
 My Bill Self moment
I've written before how good Bill Self was to me and to the LDN
during his time at Illinois -- one time even allowing me to
interview him for 30 minutes for the LDN and for CITV-5 (the usual
is 10-15 minutes max). And let me just say upfront that Coach Self
is like that with everybody. He's way too accessible. But I like to
think that if I had ever had the opportunity to coach on that level,
that I would have been that way too.
Anyway, I was hoping to run into him since so many writers and
fans have hated on him ever since he left Illinois. I never felt
that way. I feel like he did our program a lot of good, and he was
especially good with Lincoln's Brian Cook! Cook may even owe part of
his salary to Self, but that's just one man's opinion. I just wanted
to flag him down to congratulate him. Friday afternoon before the
all-star game I got my chance.
He was in the bowels of the Alamo Dome holding yet another
unplanned press conference because a bunch of reporters wanted more
time than they were allowed. As I stood behind the reporters
gathered around him, he made eye contact with me and began to laugh.
As soon as the lights on the cameras went off he reached out his
hand and shook hands with me. I offered him congratulations and told
him how happy I was for him. He thanked me and then posed me this
question. He said, "How many people live in the state of Illinois, 8
or 10 million?" I said, "Yah ... maybe." He said, "Of all those
people (and he pointed at me) you're the only one that cares about
me!" I thought that was pretty funny. I wanted to stay and talk with
him, but there were dozens of reporters who didn't care about our
conversation in the least, so I excused myself and went on my way.
I did take one other morsel from that experience. He told one
reporter something to the effect that "I believe that this is our
time and that this is the team to get the job done." Guess what ...
he was right.
For those of you with super-long memories, you may now finally
see why I was so depressed when he left Champaign. I love Coach
Weber, so don't get me wrong -- I mean no disrespect whatsoever to
him -- I hope he's here forever and we're gonna have some great
years under him. But, there was something special about Bill Self.
That being said, if Illinois doesn't win, I couldn't care less
who does. I still wish good things for people who labored on our
behalf ... be it Lou Henson (whom we also saw), Lon Kruger or Self
himself, I wish those guys nothing but the best!
Who else we saw
(kinda like David Letterman's brushes with greatness -- only
better)
I guess our real up-close-and-personal moment came with NBA
HOF'er Bill Russell. We were eating in my favorite restaurant on the
River Walk, Boudro's, and Russell just showed up out of nowhere. He
appears to shun the spotlight, as he didn't respond to fans trying
to start up conversations with him. However, we did ride the
elevator up to the street with him, so that is something to tell the
grandkids some day.
We also saw Bruce Weber, Tom Izzo, Lou Henson, Guy Lewis, Tom
Crean, Jud Heathcoat, Doug Wojic, Andy Katz, Hakeem Olijiwan, Dick
Vitale, Rusty Osborne, Homer Drew, Scott Pollard, John Beilein, Jim
Saia and dozens of other basketball dignitaries. In addition, we
went to a concert and met Jaci Velasquez and her husband, Nick, who
were just fabulous, by the way!
Craig's take
(Craig only chimes in every so many years, so this is rare indeed.)
Tigers, Jayhawks
and Elvis
By Craig Zastrow
There are a lot of things going on before, during and after the
games at the Final Four. Many of the activities you never get to see
unless you are in the Dome, and even then you have to be in the
right place at the right time. Our seats were right above the area
where the cheerleaders, bands and mascots prepared for their parts
in the Final Four drama. Here are a few things I learned from my
vantage point:
-
The Memphis Tiger
wears four layers of clothing to "warm up" the crowd before the
game. He then does several costume changes during the game,
including an official's shirt and a Memphis jersey.
-
The Ram for North
Carolina should be a Tar Heel. I had to take several minutes to
figure out what a Ram has to do with a Tar Heel. If anyone
knows, please let me know.
-
The UCLA Bruin was
the most passive of the mascots. I think he was saving his
energy for the championship game. Should have used it!
-
The Kansas Jayhawk had a lot of
difficulties during the games. He got overheated several times
and had to leave the court, go take off his head and pour large
amounts of water in and on himself. He had the most effect on
the games. When Kansas had their large lead in the semifinal
game and North Carolina caught up, it was during one of those
times the Jayhawk had left the court. They righted themselves
when he returned. I am sure it was a fact Dickie V. and Bobby
missed in their reporting on the postgame show.
The final "unofficial" mascot was the least active. Elvis was in
the building. Let me tell you Elvis has not lost any weight. In
fact, he needs to be a contestant on the "Biggest Loser" TV show. We
had several sightings, and he did leave the building early during
the championship game. Maybe there is some connection with the
Tigers blowing a nine-point lead in two minutes.
I do want to congratulate the University of Kansas (shouldn't
their initials be UK instead of KU?) and Bill Self on their
championship. They were the best team and best-coached team in the
Final Four.
(Now back to our regularly scheduled Mutterings already in
progress)
The Sunday experience
I already told you about hearing Max Lucado speak on Sunday, but
the church thing isn't the only thing that makes Sunday at the Final
Four so special. It is also a family day. This year we hooked up
with former Lincoln resident Terry Martin and his family, since they
now live in San Antonio. Terry is a captain in the Army, and he just
returned home from a long stint in Iraq. We went to church with his
family, then to Jim's (another fun restaurant) for breakfast, and
then we returned to the Dome. Every year they have a dribble walk
for kids. Every kid gets a free T-shirt, a Final Four basketball and
a free ticket to Hoop City, which is an interactive convention of
games just for the fans! The look on the faces of those 3,000 kids
is priceless and the NCAA/NABC and others need to do more things
like that for the fans.
Sunday night is one of my favorite events. I once took my LCC
team to play some games in Alaska. They have felt sorry for me ever
since and annually invite me to their yearly banquet at the Final
Four. Since I don't travel in circles that big shots do, this is
like doing the red carpet for the big stars. The food is like what
the Hollywood stars eat, the venue is always five-star, and you
never know who you're gonna meet there.
This year the event was in the Aztec Theatre, where Carlos Mencia
and George Lopez had just entertained the two nights before. Coach
Rusty Osborne of the UAA Seawolves and his wife, Stacy, are always
way too good to us. They welcomed us and allowed us to sit at their
table. One of their sons didn't like the food, so I ran down to the
Hard Rock and got him some chicken fingers, fries and a sundae... I
hope that keeps us in good graces with the Alaskan entourage! They
were so deliriously happy this year anyway because they made the
D-II Final Four for the first time in 20 years and just missed the
championship game. Anyway, congratulations, Seawolves!!!
Monday night
Well, as you can imagine, the championship game was more wild and
crazy in person than it was for you watching it in your homes. It
looked like Memphis was gonna get the crown up nine with two minutes
to play. Somehow Kansas found a way, and the rest, as they say, is
... history. It will go down as one of the greatest games in Final
Four history.
But as great as the game was, or any game at any Final Four we've
been to was, it pales in comparison to the amount of pure fun we
have at these events. The friends we see, the people we meet and the
experiences we have just can't be duplicated anywhere.
If one ever comes to an arena near you (and there will be one in
the new stadium in Indianapolis in just two years), do yourself and
your family a huge favor -- take them to the Final Four venue. Now,
if you're thinking that you don't have millions like me, just do the
free stuff. The Friday practices and all-star game get you
into the arena free, and you can get a feel for what the Final Four
is all about. The Sunday hoop dribble is also free and so are
the concerts. Then if you decide to pay to take in Hoop City (the
Final Four fan interactive facility) or anything else, let your
budget be your guide. Trust me -- you will thank me for encouraging
you to go.
My only regret ... is that it took me about 30 years to figure
out how to do it and what I was missing! It truly is the greatest
spectacle in sports!
Have a great month, everybody!
[By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffmayfield@centralwired.com.
|
