We hoped to add another year to the banner... |
Fast forward a decade, and all that started to change. In 2006, a team that started the season unranked not only made it to the Final Four, but went on to win the championship in convincing fashion. The following year the Gators rolled through the NCAA tournament once again, and we're headed back to the Final Four. Two days before the first game in Atlanta, my phone rang. It was the Gator ticket office calling to tell me that childhood dream was coming true.
The next day we packed the car and made the easiest six hour drive of my life. The only hotel in the Atlanta area that wasn't booked or practicing price gouging was a Hampton Inn about 15 miles south of Downtown. Not that it mattered...for once, I wasn't there for the hotel.
The Final Four isn't just a few basketball games...it's an event. Before Saturday's big games, we watched the band Live and Ludacris perform in Centennial Olympic Park, and attended a pep rally of sorts being hosted by the Gators. We even had time for a pre-game Pig Sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe.
A really tiny Ludacris |
With a day between games to recuperate, I planned a great day for us in Atlanta. First, we would hit Six Flags over Georgia, and follow that up with another concert by my wife's rock star crush...Adam Levine and Maroon 5. Sadly, the weather had other plans, and rain made sure none of this happened. We later learned the concert went on anyway, and I'm still working off the negative points this cost me with my wife.
You'll notice the confetti hanging from the scoreboard... |
As the players danced on stage and coach Billy Donovan hoisted the national championship trophy, an entry near the top of my bucket list vanished into thin air.
Who are you pulling for in this weekend's Final Four?
Enjoy Your Stay