When packing for a trip to the Final Four, one has to bring the essentials. Fortunately for me, condoms and liquor don’t take up too much space, so I was able to bring some clothes along for the journey.
For those who weren’t able to make it down to Atlanta, here’s a recap of what went down from the Buckeye fan’s perspective. Part one is purely notes from Saturday and Sunday. Look for part two later in the week.
The DriveBeing a poor college student, I couldn’t even afford the tickets to these games as it was. Plane tickets were out of the question, so we – my roommate Jared and I – packed up the car and drove.
Nothing too spectacular on the trip, but there’s one thing that I definitely noticed on the way. Michigan people were everywhere. Was there some convention in the south for schools that can’t win bowl games or make the NCAA tournament? Can somebody please look into this for me?
Overall though, I’ve got to say that Kentucky and Tennessee are very underrated. Much like Ohio, everybody assumes that these states are boring, empty land, but they have a really beautiful landscape, and great cities that nobody talks about – Columbus, Lexington, Knoxville. Trust me on this.
The City Atlanta is a great example of that “southern hospitality” you hear so much about. The locals here have been great to everybody from the Final Four. They’ll shoot the breeze with you, and they’re happy to have us all here.
They pulled all of the stops to make sure fans have a great time. Free concerts featuring Ludacris, LL Cool J, Chevelle and Maroon 5 show they’re really putting forth the effort. Sure, every guy in the crowd during the Maroon 5 set was making that face that said, “Kill me, seriously. I’m only standing here because my girlfriend/date is making me, and I’d like to get lucky tonight.” The point is: it’s the thought that counts.
One thing I’ve learned from the locals is to not refer to their city as “The ATL” or as “Hotlanta.” They prefer “The A,” and since it’s their city, I really have to respect that.
I almost hate to say it, with how nice the locals are, but despite everything else, the phrase “dirty south” definitely applies here. Atlanta’s a nice city to visit for this event, but I don’t think I’d ever want to live here.
The Games Is it just me, or was that 67-60 score entirely misleading? Our boys dominated from the opening tip, and were in complete control from where I was sitting. The reason? Mike Conley Jr. Forget Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, this guy might be the best player in the country right now.
Did you see that missed Oden dunk over Jeff Green? I never thought I’d see somebody jump higher than he did with his last-second block against Tennessee (the one where he jumped over Conley), but he could have cleared Rosie O’Donnell’s thighs on that leap. Both of them.
On the Florida-UCLA side, the Bruins ought to be embarrassed. At least when Georgetown was getting handled they kept plugging along. Once Florida started hitting from downtown, UCLA closed shop. They stopped boxing out, stopped playing defense and stopped trying. Quit. I’m disappointed in you, UCLA. You’re better than that. If Arron Afflalo hadn’t gotten hot and drained everything he put up once the game was decided, you’d have lost by 40.
The Hoya Sucks-a That being said about the UCLA basketball team, the UCLA fans deserve to be respected. They didn’t shrink away following their team’s performance; they took the abuse like men.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the Georgetown faithful. Despite their campus being much closer to the action than UCLA, Bruins fans outnumbered Hoyas three or four to one. Did nobody get the memo on campus? The team is in the Final Four.
It doesn’t stop there, though. All I’ve heard since I got here from Hoya nation is “at least we’re a legitimate academic school.” Chants of “safety school, safety school” have been directed at us on numerous occasions. Let’s be honest: they’re not here for academic reasons either. They lost, they should own it.
The best part of the taunting had to be where Jared responded to one of them, “You know what? I chose Ohio State because I don’t give a s— about academics.” Never mind that he’s a political science major – OSU’s political science program is ridiculous – the look on their faces was priceless.
The Cliffhanger That’s all for now, but look later for the second half of my Final Four experience. I’ll be talking about the championship game, the Florida faithful, and the bar scene in “The A,” so stay tuned.
