A little background on our friendship. When I was 6, my family moved to Barron, WI, and Erin's grandparents were our neighbors, and members of church. So there were several weekends that her family would visit Barron, and her grandparents were excited that someone her age moved in. So, each time they would visit, Erin, me, and my brother would all hang out. As we each got to be about middle school-age, I would go down to southern Minnesota in the summer and spend a week at her house, and she would return the favor. Our friendship made it through high school, and we even attended the same college for a few years. After we both went our separate ways after that, we still kept in touch. It made it so much harder to visit after we moved to Vegas, but this visit was actually her second!! Erin is one of my oldest friends, and I'm sure we will remain that way for life!! We also have one very big thing in common: Wisconsin sports! Although she was born and raised in Minnesota, her sports loyalty lies with the Packers, Brewers and Badgers. Erin and I often have sports conversations over Facebook, and we have seen a bunch of Brewers games together over the years!
That being said, she specifically chose this particular weekend, the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, to come to Vegas! Well done, Erin!!
Erin arrived on Thursday, just in time to catch the second half of what would be a 40 point (!!!!!) victory for the Badgers in their first game of the NCAA Tourney! I took the rest of that afternoon off of work, as well as all day on Friday, and the morning on Monday, too, to give my full attention to Erin and basketball.
The rest of Thursday afternoon was spent watching the tournament, and then we met up with Robbie at a sports bar to see the night games.
It was my plan for us to spend Thursday and Friday at one of the sportsbooks on the strip, but the seats were all reserved for the whole weekend. I should've known. Luckily, we were able to stream all the games on our laptops, so on Friday, we had several games going at one time between mine and Erin's laptop, and Robbie's iPad. It was our very own sportsbook from the comfort of the living room!! This also begged the question: what was it like without all this technology??!! Friday night we met Robbie at a restaurant on the brand new Linq for the night wave of games.
For the Saturday and Sunday games, we were able to get into a VIP party at the Flamingo to watch the games. A wristband got us into a grand ballroom lined with big screens, tables, complimentary food, and fellow die-hard basketball fans! Saturday night was the second Badger game, and it was a nail-biter. The Badgers opponent was the Oregon Ducks (who I am normally a fan of, but DEFINITELY not in this game), and the Ducks had a 12 point lead at the half. I thought it was the end of the road for the Badgers, but they came out in full force in the second half and ended up winning by 8 with a score of 85-77!! Also, if anyone knows the Badgers style of playing, it is rare to see a Badger score of more than the mid-60 range. My hat goes off to Oregon for forcing us to play quick!! Onto the Sweet 16, boys!!! Here is a post-game video!
After the Badger game was done, Erin and I played tourist for practically the first time since she arrived. We strolled down the newest area of the strip, the Linq, which is anchored by the Observation Wheel, and we took in a few fountain shows at the Bellagio.
As for the Badgers, their next game is on March 27 in Anaheim, and if they win, they will be playing in the Elite 8 on Saturday March 29th, and I will be watching in person from the stands!! Robbie's basketball model has the Badgers winning 71.9 to 65.2!! So, hopefully my next blog post will be of my Elite 8 experience in Anaheim. Man, I hope that happens!!! Stay tuned!!!
"If you can survive 11 days in cramped quarters with a friend and come out laughing, your friendship is the real deal." -Oprah Winfrey
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