Gophers can't top Musketeers - the 2009-10 season comes to a close.

Despite the outcome, still had a great time at the BC for the Milwaukee NCAA regional.  Attended the pre-game for Minnesota fans at Bootleggers, and it was Gopherrific to see so much Maroon and Gold in one place, all unified and postive.  The bartenders were kept very busy all morning.  After a couple hours of imbibing, I headed into Session 1 with my bud TKL who is a NU and IU alum, and Big Ten thru and thru.

A number of observations/comments:

• Since it was a weekday and before 6pm, the parking situation around the BC was not real good.  All on-street parking on side streets were 3 hour max or less.  I ended up in a ramp that raked you to pay for parking during both sessions 1 and 2.
• On my 9:30 am walk from the ramp to Bootleggers, I walked past not one, but two separate Iowa Hawkeye fans.  By the second one, I was so bewildered at the sight of them that I said to him "What are you guys here shopping for a coach?"  He ignored me.
• Bootleggers was full up of Maroon and Gold.  Pretty awesome.  They had two huge U of Minn Alumni flags hanging from the rafters. The Rouser spontaneously broke out a few times, and spirits were high.  At one point, a large banner was unfurled that said "It's Tubby Time - Let's Dance" or something like that.  Very cool.  
• A group of Oakland fans swung into Bootleggers, and were definitely enjoying themselves.  A fun bunch.
• The BC got pretty full up by midway through the 1st Half, when the corner upper deck seats get filled up, good to see, since a number of the Thursday regional games had a lot of empty seats.
• Xavier and Minnesota brought vocal crowds, both were on top of the game and rallied around their teams at the right moments.
• No beer sales in the BC, no doubt due to NCAA stipulations.  Stuck with Pepsi products.  Got bad gut-rot from a soda.  A little beer will put out that fire.
• Headed back to Bootleggers after Session 1, with a pit stop at the Calderone Pub first.  Nice mix of fans from all the teams in the regional there.  
• Bootleggers was no longer the Gopher haven it was when I left there that morning.  Badger fans had decended upon it, and the Gopher fans started to disperse.  Still our banners were up and we were flying the flag
• Finally the Bootleggers staff start to take down the huge 'Welcome M Alumni' flags.  I offer to buy  one off the guy taking it down, but he states that these belong to the Alumni Association, to which I reply "I'm in the Alumni Association! Sell it to me!"  No dice.

Panoramic view from our seats in Sec 221.

Obstructed view, but close enough that I didn't care.

Goldy keepin' it real, while the Musketeer looks on.

Goldy and the bench look on in the 1st Half.

Tubby paces the sidelines.

For some reason my camera chose to focus on Blake - I thought it kinda made this pic cool.

LW inbounds during the second half.

Gopher Nation stands to acknowledge the seniors, Westbrook, Johnson, and Bostick.

Its over, its all over.

Gopher Bandanna Guy and TKL just glad to be a part of March Madness.

Ralph Sampson the 2nd.  Certainly the tallest man currentlyin the building. Very likely the tallest man currently in the State of Wisconsin. And quite possibly the tallest man currently in the upper Midwest.  Also see Bryant Allen sitting with friends, and Paul Carter sitting with sister on the bottom of photo.

Game 2 - Pitt brings out their lovely cheerleaders, and apparently one grouchy one.  Smile dear, you're at the Big Dance!

The Oakland Golden Grizzly.  I thought he was pretty cool.  Huge head, might be one of the biggest I've ever seen on a mascot.

Pitt sets up the offense.

With Pitt firmly in control, the stands empty out, but the Oakland Grizz faithful stick to the end.

Gone Dancin' - Gopher Bandanna Guy is out for the Big Dance.

Big Dance here I come! Okay, so admittedly its not a very long trip.  Really just a 35 minute drive from my home, and even less from my office.  Its in my backyard, and I'm no stranger to the Bradley Center (affectionately known as 'the BC') or the surrounding scene, being a Bucks Season ticket holder. And I'm also no stranger to attending NCAA Tournament games.  But this will be the first I attend where the beloved Maroon and Gold are playing for something (I can't count the 1997 Final Four, as I didn't get in the RCA Dome).

My Dad got me hooked on Tourney Time when I was just a freshman in high school, when he pulled me out of school to accompany him to the 1992 Milwaukee Regional.  By the end of the 6 games, it ended up as one of my favorite sports memories ever as a kid. The regional was chalk until the 2nd round.  I'll never forget the end of the game matching #7 seed Georgia Tech vs.  #2 seed USC.  Matt Geiger inbounded to James Forrest with 0.8 seconds left for a game-winning catch and shoot.  You've surely seen that moment before on many a 'One Shining Moment' montages from years past (and if not, the link will show you - its only 40 seconds).  I was there, and loving every second of it.  But what only people who were there know about that game, was that the supposedly neutral crowd became very pro-Georgia Tech early on. Mid-first half,  the crowd turned on USC and their star player, Harold 'Baby Jordan' Miner, after he displayed his showpony pre-freethrow routine by obnoxiously passing the ball through his legs and around his back.  Boos rained down from there on, and the Milwaukee crowd got solidly behind Bobby Cremins' crew.  That's one of the things that makes the Big Dance so great, seemingly neutral basketball fans or fans of other teams not involved, can and will rabidly turn against the favorite, or the team of a player that simply turns everyone off.  Since then, I've enjoyed so many great tournament games, as I'm sure all of us have.  This just reinforced my love of this, the greatest of American sporting events.  Screw the Super Bowl.  Tourney Time is where it's at. No doubt about it.

And since that regional, I've been sold on the glory that is attending the NCAA Tournament in person.  I took in the 1st/2nd round Milwaukee '96 when Tim Duncan came to town, the '97 Final Four when the Clem and the Gophers stormed Indianapolis (although we didn't get into the game, as it was cost-prohibitive), the '02 3rd/4th round games in Madison when 4 big progams laden with NBA talent (much of it marginal, admittedly) rolled into town - Texas, Illinois, Kansas, and Oregon. And lastly, I fulfilled one of my minor goals in life by taking my Dad to the Final Four in Detroit last year, as my way of thanking him for pulling me out of school for a life experience 17 years earlier (Thank you Dad -did I mention that he was also the Principal of my school at the time?).

That brings me up to the present.  Ever since I nabbed my Session 1 tickets (almost immediately after seeing we landing the #11 seed in the Milwaukee regional last Sunday afternoon), I've been absolutely jacked up for this game against Xavier.  The chances for the Gophers to land in a Milwaukee regional are pretty slim on any given year, due to the fact that, a) Milwaukee only hosts about every 4-6 years, and b) the Gophers don't make the tournament all that frequently (that's changing though...).  This is could quite literally be a once-in-decades opportunity.  And so I'm seizing it.

Over Friday (and hopefully Sunday) Gopher Bandanna Guy will be running around 4th and State, photo documenting the fun, and the game itself.  Check back, as I'll have pics, musings, and reflections on the general vibe of the event.  I plan on spending my pre-game Friday morning over at 'Bootleggers' on Ye Olde Worlde Thirde Streete, which has been designated 'Gopher Nation headquarters' by the UMAA.  Then heading into Session 1 for the Minnesota-Xavier and Pitt-Oakland games.  After that its up in the air - scalp back in for the Session 2 Ohio State-UCSB and Georgia Tech-Oklahoma State games?  Meet up with some friends and settle in on Water Street?  Will Gopher Bandanna Gal shut down all the fun and call me home? Who knows?  Win or lose, the day should be memorable.

As far as a breakdown on the game vs. the Musketeers goes, frankly I'm too excited to think rationally and critically on this one, and there are plenty of other speculators out there you can turn to.  I'll just give my prediction and leave it at that.
Gophers pull the upset 71 - 66, on the strength of DJ's defense and some hot Westbrook shooting.


That's it for now - check back Saturday night for Friday's recap.  GO GOPHERS!!!