Final Four Diary

Friday
8 AM: Can't sleep, too nervous. I've had a sore throat ever since returning from East Rutherford, but been running on adrenaline all week. I wake up, find some throat drops. Watch Mike and Mike debate Hoyas vs Buckeyes on ESPN2, while scrolling through Hoyatalk on my Motorola Q. Great tool, by the way- very useful for keeping up on internet!

I drink tea all day, trying to rehab by voice. I cancel my conference calls planned for the day, and watch "Hoosiers" all the way through. That movie, and "Miracle," comprises my big pre-game ritual.

Watched the news conferences at 1 on Comcast Sports Net. It's ironic, but pleasant, that CSN finally jumped wholeheartedly on the Hoyas bandwagon, with their "Hoya Hysteria" coverage.

For that matter, I LOVE how Sportstalk 980 has been touting itself as the "Home for the Hoyas." They have been running sentimental pieces all week of Coach Thompson the Elder talking about his son in the Final Four. Very cool stuff.

4 PM: Katherine and I leave Spotsylvania for Charlottesville to pick up Kevin Walsh, another Hoya Alum sharing our Road to the Final Four.

5:45 PM: The three of us leave C'ville for Atlanta. We take 64 East through Richmond to 85 S through N. Carolina, S. Carolina, and Georgia. Talk about Hoya war stories the entire time! Kevin is a terrific traveler and a good person to have on the road to the Final Four.

4:45 AM: I-85 is an evil road, seriously. It is endless through North Carolina, going through many terrible places: Durham, Chapel Hill, High Point.... It is an endless ACC trail. Heck, just an endless trail. That, plus 107 miles of South Cakalacky and 110 miles of North Georgia, makes for a VERY exhausting drive. Thoughts of Final Fours keep me awake, and we finally arrive in Atlanta. Even in my sleepy delirium, I am excited by the numerous Final Four-themed billboards on the Interstates. We pass by the Georgia Dome, with this sign:

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR

With the "G" logo. As cool as it gets for this longtime Hoya fan!

Saturday
9 AM: I wake up, throat still sore, too nervous to sleep. EconoLodge too uncomfortable anyway. Five hours of sleep will have to do. I'm popping Halls at this point like they're sunflower seeds.

10:30 AM: We drop Katherine off to pick up her tickets at the Georgia Dome, and Kevin and I head to the Renaissance Hotel to pick up our tix, ordered through the Hoop Club. Thank God we upped our donation levels this year!

We run into Kevin's parents in the lobby, which is adorned with Final Four logos and Hoya glitterati: former players (DJ Owens, Amadou), former coaches (Ronny Thompson), former ADs (GU alum Adam Brick), the entire HHC Board, the Athletic Department staff. The entire Hoya family, extended. Terrific atmosphere.

11:30 AM: After getting some tea with honey for my throat, I got interviewed by a Washington Post reporter on what this team and experience meant to me. All I could say was that this is the most fun Hoya team I've ever seen or cheered for. That's the best way I can put it.

2 PM: Head back to hotel to nap after eating at a local Ruby Tuesday's. Saw that Digger Phelps picked us: bad omen. Kiss of death. Digger hasn't had one right all postseason. He picked ND over us in the BET.

4 PM: Head out to the Dome. Trying in vain to find a banana or twp -- aren't there any food stores in this city?

5 PM: Find parking downtown. Walk to the Georgia Dome, which is adorned totally with FF logos on the sidewalks. There are posters with the logos of all 65 NCAA Tourney participants lining the walk to the Dome -- VERY cool. Especially since at the end of the sidewalk, set apart, are the posters with the four final schools still alive. We took pictures next to the Georgetown poster -- there was no line to do so.

Also took pics of the huge "AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR" banner. Katherine points out that we don't want pics of the one that says "THE ROAD ENDS HERE."

5:30 PM: I'm on line for the 300 level, Katherine to the 100 level. I'm in a huge swath of Florida fans and OSU fans. Now, Ohioans are usually a demure bunch, Midwestern, polite and all. But OSU fans, I never cared for and find borderline intolerable. While in line, the crowd around me (wearing red) starts yelling.

"O-H-I-O"

I debated telling the Florida fans the Buckeyes didn't think much of their Football team. Maybe I should have.

6:00 PM: Game buildup is making me more nervous. The place is decorated well; placards with all tourney champs ring the stadium. Logos, etc are everywhere. They did as good a job as they could. I had decent seats and a decent view, baseline.

Around a bunch of OSU fans. Ugh. But next to me are a UConn fan and a Big East fan. They are pulling for the Hoyas, neither likes OSU.

6:30 PM: Oden to the bench with 2 fouls. Roy has come to play; the rest of the guys look tight. Very early still. Conley looking good.

7:00 PM:Down only 4 at the half. Not bad considering Conley killed us and Jeff held to five. Going to have to D up, and get Roy and Jeff rolling in the second half. DaJuan is having a freshman moment. Hopefully he settles down. The UConn and BE fans next to me are scared of the corn-fed Ohioans near us. They flee to a more distant section. I stay, stubbornly.

7:15 PM: Hoyas on the comeback! Up by 1 with Oden getting his 3rd. Roy Hibbert just destroying Oden. OSU looks disoriented on D, and calls a timeout.

OSU then comes down on offense. Oden tries to dunk and Roy just blocks him from behind. I'm already jumping up and down before this; after, I'm going nuts, as is the GU section. Then Roy fouls Lighty on a rebound and put back attempt.

A father and son in red near me say the Hoyas suck and Oden will be the #1 pick and just talk trash to me. I ask who is winning (not wise, I grant you), and point out Hibbert is dominating Oden. They threaten to cross the aisle to "shut me up." Then they just order me not to talk to them anymore. So much for Midwestern manners.

Then the Hoyas go cold. Ice cold. As they do, Oden begins to assert himself against Ewing and Green. Unfortunate, as the Hoyas are not big enough to double Oden AND keep OSU off the glass. Still, Wallace and the guys fight hard. They tie it at 52.

And don't score for several minutes thereafter.

In the end, their inability to rebound costs GU the victory, and our Magic Carpet Ride ends. A policeman came to escort me to better seats (!) and away from the OSU fans, which I really didn't need but was OK with. I did congratulate them on their victory and said their team played well, which they did. Most of us left as friends. Kind of.

Staying for the Florida-UCLA game was surreal. I was -- and am -- so proud of our Hoyas for their magical season, but disappointed with the loss. The Hoya fans I saw were beridding themselves of their tix, mostly. Time to leave the Dirty South.

12 AM: We stop by the Renaissance before heading to the EconoLodge to have a bite and talk with other Hoya fans. Generally everyone was upbeat, considering; everyone was grateful for the season and the memories. The Chvotkins stopped by; HHC President Al Bozzo stopped by. The mood was light, and that helped. With that, we headed back.

Sunday
10 AM: Trying to find an acceptable Catholic Church in Atlanta was trickier than originally thought. Having found one a mile from the Renaissance that was in a horrible part of town where someone almost ran me over in the parking lot (!), we decided to pick up Kevin and head home with our souvenirs and memories.

Sunday
9:30 PM: We arrive back in Virginia. Tired, hoarse, but smiling from the season that was.

Is it October yet?

Steve Thomas (F'97, G'01)
Generation Othella