Busy weekend ends with Kansas as champs

The Final Four weekend started out interesting. After finishing a confer fence for the East Texan and other college newspapers in College Station, I made my way to San Antonio for the 2008 NCAA Men’s Final Four.During the drive from College Station to San Antonio, I realized that College Station is similar to Commerce in a few ways. They are both located in areas that are about an hour drive from a major metropolitan city. They also both have small towns that seem dependant on the universities located there. Aside from the businesses in both Commerce and College Station and their proximity to metropolitan areas, both places are located in the middle of lots of farmland, or in the middle of nowhere.Leaving College Station, I drove about an hour before I saw anything other than farmland and fields. Most of the nearly three-hour drive consisted of the farmland and fields scenery. It wasn’t until I got to Bastrop and San Marcos that I saw businesses and places resembling civilization. Approaching San Antonio, I started to get more excited, yet nervous, for the Final Four weekend. I had been lucky enough the last two years to work the women’s and men’s NCAA Regionals in San Antonio, so why was I so nervous? During the past two years, I had met most of the NCAA “big wigs” that would be at the Final Four, so why was I so nervous?Well, the Final Four was going to be on national TV, well-known people and celebrities of sorts would be at the games and the festivities. The Final Four means to college basketball what the Super Bowl means to the NFL. It is the “Big Dance.” Only the best teams make it to the Final Four. I was driving on I-35 and billboards started to popping up near downtown that stated the 2008 Final Four motto “The Road Ends Here.”I took the exit for the Alamodome, I took the turnaround and when I got ready to turn into the parking lot, I looked into my rearview mirror and saw the San Antonio Police Department behind me escorting the Memphis team bus.After getting into the Alamodome and getting my credential, I walked to the court. The surroundings were familiar from the Regional last year, but some surroundings seemed foreign, because it was the Final Four after all. The next few hours consisted of answering questions that media members had, and providing programs and starting lineups for everyone in the media. The first game Saturday night between UCLA and Memphis tipped off and was a close game, until Memphis started to pull away from UCLA on their way to winning the game. Obviously, there were players like Kevin Love and Joey Dorsey both on the court, but also meeting John Calipari and Ben Howland were fun, but I personally was looking forward to the matchup between Kansas and UNC.Roy Williams and Bill Self are coaches that most college fans know. Tyler Hansbrough played his heart out during parts of the matchup with Kansas, but it wasn’t enough for a UNC win. Then again, basketball is a team sport. It was an amazing experience being able to watch the game from so close and also getting to meet some of the game’s biggest names. Throughout the weekend, when press conferences were held with coaches and players, I had the chance to meet a few well-known people. Saturday, I had the chance to meet ESPN.com writer Andy Katz. Sunday, after a press conference that announced his induction into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, I had the chance to meet the legendary Dick Vitale, which was a moment that I will always remember. While standing and taking pictures, many of us started to hear people saying that ESPN was about to begin taping. I looked on the ESPN set and saw not only Katz, but also Digger Phelps, Jay Silas, Vitale, among others. Of course, the most pivotal moment on Monday was the National Championship game between Kansas and Memphis. The atmosphere before the game was energetic at best, with a nearly packed Alamodome, and a huge sea of blue, thanks to the school colors of both schools being a deep royal blue. Throughout the game, I was assisting the media by providing stats and lineups, but I was able to sit and watch the National Championship game more than games in the past. It had been a long day when Mario Chambers 3-pointer went through the net to force overtime, and I had mixed feelings about it. First, my thoughts on basketball have always been that in order to win games, a team has to play good, fundamental basketball, make the clutch shots and make their free throws. Had Memphis made the free throws down the stretch, instead of missing four of their last five, Memphis probably would have won the game. Overall, having the chance to experience the Final Four and meeting coaches and players and other well-known personalities was an experience that I won’t soon forget. I was given the option after the night was over, to come back to San Antonio and work the 2010 Women’s Final Four, and as much as I would love the opportunity and experience, a lot will depend on where I am at that point in my life.