We had seats in the lower bowl on the corner of one of the sides of the court; they were pretty good seats! We sat right in front of 2 ladies who were Iowa fans, and seem to have a tradition of going to Big Ten Tournaments. They were sweet ladies!
The first game of the day was Indiana vs. Ohio State, which, funny enough, were the 2 Big Ten teams we saw live this year! This game was back-and-forth for a while, but Ohio State came out with the win, 79-75!
Next up was Nebraska and Maryland. This game was important to us because the winner of this game would play the Badgers the following day! I didn't really care that much who won because by the time either of these teams would get to the Badgers, they would most likely be tired where the Badgers would be fresh playing their first game! Nebraska ended up winning with a score of 69-61.
After the Maryland/Nebraska game, they had a break between sessions and all the fans had to leave the United Center so it could be cleaned. We used that time to leave and check into our hotel. We stayed about 18 miles west of Chicago. There were a few hotels that were close to the arena but the rates were astronomical, and the parking fee was $60 per night! No thanks! We decided on the Embassy Suites, which there, we knew we would get a good breakfast each morning before the games, and the drive wasn't that bad with the exception of going to check in (we were in the middle of rush hour traffic). After we checked in, we spent a few minutes in the hot tub before we headed back for the night sessions of games. It was a great way to re-charge! We also had a room that faced the skyline, so that was an added plus!
When we got back to the United Center, the second half of the Penn St. vs. Minnesota game was just under way. I was excited to see Minnesota play because for how long I lived near the U of M, I can't believe it took me until now to see them live! Minnesota ended up winning this game with a score of 77-72 in overtime! It was a fun end in regulation!
The final game of the day was between Iowa and Illinois. By this time, our section had filled up with mostly Iowa fans. I had Illinois winning in my bracket, but there was no way I was cheering against Iowa. Plus, we wanted the ladies behind us to stick around! Iowa did end up routing Illinois with a score of 83-62. We decided to leave at halftime because it had been a long day! Day 1 was in the books and we were very much anticipating Badger Day!
The next day, Friday, there were as many games as there were on Thursday, and they were going to be more competitive because the higher seeds were playing for the first time after their double-byes (including Wisconsin)! The first game was the #1 seeded Michigan State vs. Ohio State! It was a pretty close game all the way through, but Michigan State ended up pulling ahead and won 77-70.
A few Badger players taking in the game prior to theirs!
This was Tom Izzo's 600th win!
Now, the game we had been waiting for, our Wisconsin Badgers! This season had been a much better one that the previous year, but it was still not our greatest. There had been many ups and downs, but we did beat some pretty good teams in the regular season. We went to the Indiana game in Bloomington in February, and lost in double overtime. It was a very competitive game and we played our hearts out! Then we went to the final regular season game in Columbus vs. Ohio State. We broke away with a big lead in the first half, then almost gave it all up , but eeeked away with the win in overtime! The Badgers drew the #4 seed in the tournament, the last seed to get the coveted and much needed double-bye!
The Badgers played in the 2nd game of the day, around 2pm, vs. Nebraska. Badger fans came out of the woodwork for this game, and I was decked out from head to toe in Badger gear! It was fun to be in playoff mode! Robbie and I both thought that Wisconsin would just blow out Nebraska, but Nebraska kept it close the whole game. The Badgers played kind of sloppy , but came out with the win 66-62. If we want to win against Michigan State the next day, we have got to play better than what we just saw!
After the Badger game, they made us all leave the United Center again, so we walked to a nearby McDonald's to charge our phones and get some food.
The first evening match-up was Minnesota vs. Purdue, or should I say Pur-don't. Purdue is the one team in the Big Ten that both Robbie and I dislike with the greatest passion. So, needless to say, we were cheering for Minnesota. There were a few Purdue fans sitting right in front of us, and they gave us some good insight of who their state cheered for. People north of Indianapolis cheer for Purdue, people south of Indianapolis cheer for Indiana, and people in Indianapolis cheer for Butler. We did not let these fans know we hated Purdue! I never really gave it a thought, especially with 2 teams in the same state are in the same conference! Then they said just a small population cheer for Notre Dame. Interesting! Minnesota ended up winning this game by 2, 75-73. Purdue was never supposed to be a 3 seed, haha!
The final game of the day was Iowa vs. Michigan. We were both pulling for Iowa because of the fans around us, and because we wanted the Badgers to have an easier road to the championship game. We left at halftime because the game was getting away from Iowa. Unfortunately Iowa lost big, 74-53, and it was also the last time we saw the Iowa fans who sat behind us.
Saturday was a busy day for us. Even though games didn't start until noon, our day started at 7am. When we planned our trip to the tournament, it dawned on us that the tournament was the same weekend as St. Patrick's Day. Chicago always goes big for this "holiday," so Robbie was researching the goings-on that day. He found a river cruise,taking off from Navy Pier, to watch the Chicago River being dyed green. Pretty awesome! So, we bought tickets for that, and on that Saturday morning, we were headed downtown for the first time that weekend!
It was a little chilly outside, but it was bright and sunny. We were one of the first one's there; we weren't sure when people would arrive or what kind of boats we would be on, but we wanted a good seat on the exterior of the boat. Turns out we were first in line, and we ended up being on a boat with a news crew who were filming the event! Cool! We secured seats in the very front of the boat! As we were checking in, we got free Guinness beer tickets for the cruise and neither of us were going to use them. So we gave them to a group all decked out in green, and I'm pretty sure we made their day!
We took off from Navy Pier and made out way to the mouth of the river, through a lock-and-dam!
When we got to the actual river, there were several other boats just like ours filled with people waiting to celebrate the river turning green. I had always heard about this tradition but never actually saw it, so I was skeptical at how green the river would actually be, and if we would be able to see the color from the water. Our boat waited in the back for a while, and we saw glimpses of the boat that was actually spraying the dye into the water. That boat was really far away and we thought that was going to be it.
After a few minutes, our boat tootled closer to all the action, and the "green boat" was coming closer to us. I guess only part of the river is dyed green. As the "green boat" got closer, there was a heightened sense of anticipation on our boat and the cheers got louder! Soon enough, the "green boat" was passing us and sure enough, the river WAS green! I mean, green green! And the sun made the green even brighter! It was such a cool thing to see! Not only were there several boats, the bridges above the water were also packed with people waiting to see this cool event, too!
After the river was green, we floated up a ways to celebrate, waving at other boats and the people on the bridges. I am so glad we did this! It broke up the basketball weekend perfectly!
The boat docked around 10:15 am, and we had to hustle back to the United Center for tip-off of the Badgers "Final Four" game at noon! We changed clothes in the car, and made it in time for pre-game shoot-arounds. The Badgers had the first game of the day, which allowed the team to take the court early and shoot at their leisure. We would need all the practice we could get, as we were matched against the #1 seed Michigan State!
The game tipped, and from the start it didn't look good for the Badgers. It didn't help that MSU made their first 3 shots, 2 of which were 3-pointers! The Badgers called an early time-out when we only had 2 points on the board. It was hard for any team to climb out of that hole. The Badgers just weren't making any of their shots, and they had players who weren't sticking to their roles (Brad Davison, you belong outside the 3-point line, NOT under the basket). The Badgers got it to 8 down at halftime, and we were hoping for a big run at the beginning of the 2nd half. If the Badgers could do that, they had a chance. They brought it to within 7, the Badgers had the ball, then turned it over for a 3 the other way. After that, there was no way that we could come back from this. The Badgers ended up losing by 12, a score of 67-55. Granted MSU was the #1 seed and they were really good, I was proud of the Badgers as well. I'm glad we were able to see them play twice, even after the double-bye!
There was about 3 minutes left of the Badger game that I turned to Robbie and asked "how much interest do you have in the next game (Minnesota vs. Michigan)?" I was so glad when he said "zero!" Neither of us were in the mood to watch basketball after the Badgers performance, and we had a good idea that Michigan would blow out Minnesota. So we decided to go back to our hotel for a much needed nap. It's a good thing we left, because Michigan routed Minnesota, 76-49!
About a week before we came to Chicago, Robbie got ahold of his longtime friend Isaac, who he met in college. Isaac lives in a western suburb of Chicago by about 60 miles, so we made plans to visit him and his family that night, being there was no evening session of the tournament that night. We got to Isaac's around 7 that night, and hung out with Isaac and his wife Sam, and got to meet their 2 little one's as well. Oh, and their huge dog, Chief! When I first saw their dog, I thought it was a pig! I wish I had gotten a picture of it! There was a point when Chief hopped up onto Robbie's lap and I thought the dog was going to cut off his circulation! He was a good dog!
We played a few games with Isaac and Sam, and then time got way from us as we were reminiscing and telling stories of our past. Before we knew it, it was after 1am, and we had a good hour to travel back to our hotel. It was a super fun visit! On the way back, the police were out in full force as it was almost bar closing time, the day before St. Patrick's Day. Robbie drove very attentively back to the hotel, and both of us just crashed.
The next morning we woke up and had no want or need to go to the championship game. The game started at 2:30 CST, and we didn't know what we would do until then, and both of us were tired and wanted to get home. If we stayed for the game, we probably wouldn't get on the road until at least 6pm, and that would not have been ideal. So, we went to the United Center and sold our tickets on the street for a really good price, and just left.
We were on the road by 12:30, and drove straight through! We actually made it home in time to catch the last 5 minutes of the Michigan vs. Michigan State game, and we were able to watch the whole Selection Sunday show! It was nice to be home while the sun was still up, and just to relax that evening.
The Big Ten Tournament was a lot of fun this year, and I could see this being a tradition for us, just like it was for the Iowa fans sitting behind us! Maybe when we go again we will be able to see Northwestern and Rutgers!
"When you say Wisconsin...
"
No comments:
Post a Comment