The *Elite* Experience - Anaheim,CA - March 29, 2014

As promised from my previous blog post, I'm staying true to my word and keeping you updated on the progress of the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team in the NCAA Tourney. On Thursday, March 27th, the Badgers played in the Sweet 16 round of the Tournament, and lets face it, the Badgers man-handled the Baylor Bears with a score of 69-52. Baylor didn't even belong in the Sweet 16, but they had a pretty easy way paved for them to get here. So, when the final buzzer sounded, Robbie and I wasted no time setting the wheels in motion for our trip to Anaheim for the Elite 8 game on Saturday. That night, we secured the tickets, the hotel, and the car rental! We were on our way to the Elite 8 to watch the Badgers take on the winner of the San Diego State/Arizona game. San Diego State gave the Wildcats a scare, but eventually, Arizona pulled ahead, and we found out our foe for Saturday. I was about 10% upset that we would have to play them, only because we have had experience with their fans, and it wasn't pleasant the last 2 times at the PAC-12 Tournaments! But I overcame that, and was just excited for my Badgers!

Both of us could barely sleep on Friday; we just wanted to get to Anaheim already! We woke up early on Saturday morning, got the car, and headed west to California. We got to our hotel with plenty of time to relax before the game, but just in time to feel our very first earthquake!!! Now let me tell you, that was an experience in itself! We had a room on the 7th floor so we didn't feel it as bad, but it still measured in at a 5.1 magnitude on the Richter scale! We knew that there had been earthquake activity the last few weeks around the L.A. area, so we were aware that it could happen...and it surely did!! 3 other times, in fact!! CRAZY!!!

Anyway, back to the Badgers. Our hotel wasn't far away from the Honda Center, the venue of the Sweet 16/Elite 8 rounds, so we had no problem getting there. After parking and walking a short distance, we were in!! And my excitement was amplified!! We had seats around 10 rows from the top towards the corner of the court, but it was actually preferred because then we didn't have to crank our necks on each possession.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We got to the Honda Center early enough to watch the pre-game shoot-around from each team. The Badgers have a senior, Ben Brust who is clutch when it comes to 3-pointers, so we were watching him drain one 3 point shot after another! It was pretty cool! After everyone was warmed up, the anticipation of the game was growing in the crowd. After the National Anthem was sung, the starting line-ups were announced, Bucky worked the camera a little bit, it was finally time for tip-off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Elite 8 round for the Badgers had begun. I could tell right away that both defenses were playing on all cylinders and it was going to be a tight game the whole way through. During the first half, the Badgers had their largest deficit of 8 points. And yes, you can believe that the Arizona fans let us know that! Also, Arizona was guarding Ben Brust so much so, that he never really had any good looks from the 3 point line. However, one of our juniors Frank Kaminsky did, but his shots just weren't going in the basket. A few other players had the same mis-fortune, and while we were missing shots on our end, Arizona was capitalizing on theirs. It was a frustrating first half, to say the least, but we had cut our deficit to just 3 points by intermission.

I don't know what was said in the locker room, but I'm pretty sure Bo Ryan's face was as red as it ever had been. Mine would be too, if I got a technical for something as petty as probably throwing a pen at the bench. We didn't know about the technical until Arizona was shooting free throws because they showed no replays. Anyway, the Badgers came out swinging right away in the second half, playing much better basketball, the Badgers way! They were visibly more in-sync as a team, and it showed! Even in the second half, both defenses were top-notch, and still defending the 3 point line! As the end of the game neared, the game was tied, and Badgers junior Traevon Jackson was the last to touch the ball and sink it for the win, but it missed by just a little.

This meant free basketball! And this also meant that my heart rate was about to increase to a dangerous level (ok, I'm exaggerating a little bit). Human bodies aren't cut out to take such dramatics!!! With each second of the 5 minute Overtime period, I became more anxious, and the crowd grew louder and louder after every shot, whether the ball went in the bucket or not. Now, I'm sure if you watched the game, you were aware of the 7 minute delay with 2.3 seconds left in overtime. The refs called the ball out of bounds on Arizona, but they had to go and review it, by rule if its within the last 2 minutes. After half the crowd almost strangled (there I go with the exaggeration again) the refs, they had over-turned the call, and gave the ball to Arizona on their end of the court. Apparently it was over-turned because the trajectory of the ball had changed in mid-air?? At the time, no one in the Honda Center knew because, again, they would not show us any replays. C'mon NCAA!!! So, it was Arizona ball with 2.3 seconds left, and the Badgers up by 1. Wildcats' Nick Johnson had the ball, and dribbled it one too many times before he shot, but it was too late!!! The Badgers came out on top with a score of 64-63, and punched their ticket to the Final Four for only the 3rd time in school history, the second time since 2000, and the first under coach Bo Ryan!!!!

What a feeling it was for me, for us!! As soon as the game was over, Robbie scooped me up in celebration, and we cheered for what seemed like those 7 minutes that the game was delayed!!! I was elated!!! We quickly hurried down to the floor to see the post-game celebrations, and the cutting of the net. Now, we have seen the Oregon Ducks and the UCLA Bruins cut the nets after they've won the PAC-12 Tournament, but it is 100x better when its YOUR team that gets to do it. What a cool feeling to be there for it! After the net was cut, the band played On Wisconsin a few times and the crowd chanted "Let's Go Badgers" over and over again!! It was a "sweet" ending to an "elite" game. Ha-ha!

 

 

 

I couldn't stop myself from cheering on our way to the car. It was just an unbelievably great game. And as for those Arizona fans, they kept it real classy and staged riots on their campus in Tucson. Way to be gracious losers, Wildcat Nation! When we got back to our car that was parked in a parking structure, we realized we weren't going anywhere for a while, as the Anaheim Angels game was wrapping up just as the basketball game was, and the baseball stadium is right across the freeway from the Honda Center. This actually worked to our advantage because now we had a chance to get caught up on social media and respond to all our Facebook posts and messages, and look through Twitter and ESPN to see highlights of the game, and of course to read about those riots. We also got a pretty sweet fireworks display, too. The display was actually coming from Angel Stadium when that game was done, but when I tell the story, it'll be because the of the Badgers' win!!!

So, now the Badgers, and maybe some other people you may know, are preparing for the Final Four on April 5th, and hopefully the Championship game on April 7th in Dallas, TX!!

I'll leave you with this one last photo. During the Badgers celebration, I took the photo on the right of coach Bo Ryan on his teams shoulders. The picture on the left is a photo taken by a professional photographer, almost at the exact same time, but from the front. And in that little box, that's Robbie and I! How cool is that?

Also, another touching side-note. Previous to this, every year, Bo Ryan has gone to the Final Four as a spectator with his dad, but his dad died this past August, and he never got to see his son coach a game in the Final Four. I'm sure, however, his dad will be watching from above this weekend!

"When you say Wisconsin, you've said it all!" -The Badger crowd