The Final Four Through the Eyes of a Gopher Lady

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Nadine, it's always interesting and enjoyable to hear about your Final Four experiences. Wish I could do that every year. ... I'm jealous. Sounds like you & Nate always have a great time. Who knows, maybe in the near future (perhaps 2011) it'll take on added meaning with a Tubby-led Gophers appearance in the Final Four. It's nice to know the Final Four now can realistically be considered a possibility for Gopher fans because of the quality coach & person leading the program.
 

Hey Lady - Great Write-up

I must say Lady, of all of your great write-ups for this site, this may have been my all-time favorite. Thru your simple pointed comments, I could feel your excitement of being there, taking in all the sites and activites that go along with the games. Truly VERY fun to read, especially for some of us who have met you.

One thing of concern however is your man-crush on Coach Self. Is it something that we need to warn his wife about? Next thing I know, you will start wearing Bill Serlf autographed Kansas' gear to Gopher Games!! ??

Congrats and keep up the great work!!
 

Great story GL! How do you manage to get tickets every year?
 

Nice work and pics. Did Tubby give you any good scoops?

I went to a Tiger game at Comerica when Ford Field was going up behind it. Looks like it's a nice facility.
 


Congrats on another Final 4 & great article

What were your seats like? The size of these large Final 4 venues scares me. How many good seats are there really? I heard that there are only about 20,000 decent seats. Is that accurate? Enjoyed reading your journal.
 

Thanks, guys - I'm glad you enjoyed the recap. It's hard translating what an amazing time we have into photos and tid-bits, but I tried.

94Gopher - we apply for tickets every year in the lottery. One person can apply up to 10 times, and you do have to put the money up for that many applications. You get it all back in August, but it sucks parting with that money for a few months, or having it on your credit card. The good news is, you pay face for tickets, and have the piece of mind knowing you will be able to go to the games.

AKgopher - If Tubby gave me any good scoops, do you really think I'd post them and lose his trust? Haha. What I can say is, I think he will be here for quite some time...as long as they get going on that practice facility!

Row19gopher - It's funny, this was the biggest Final Four, but we had the best seats we ever had. We were right at 1/2 court, but in the 3rd level. Ford Field is so nice, it didn't feel that far away. It's obviously an adjustment, I don't think I've ever sat further back than 15 rows at the Barn, but you just know you're going for the experience, and not the best seats (unless you've got a couple grand to fork over). They put the court in the middle, which we thought, make every seat a better seat. When they had it in the corner, there were final fours where Nate and I couldn't even see the jersey numbers.
 

One thing I appreciated about your story Nadine was that you didn't take the easy "Detroit sucks" storyline that I saw several places. One of my pet peeves is when sportswriters/media bitch and moan about such things (Jeff Goodman on foxsports.com, who I usually like, was particularly whiny about Detroit). Do these guys realize that most fans would love to trade places for them (perhaps not their entire life, but for at least that night/event) and we don't really want to hear how their hotels were too far from the arena or how the weather was too chilly? Anyway, it was really nice to read an open-minded and enthusiastic appraisal of the experience and Detroit.
 

coolhandgopher said:
One thing I appreciated about your story Nadine was that you didn't take the easy "Detroit sucks" storyline that I saw several places. One of my pet peeves is when sportswriters/media bitch and moan about such things (Jeff Goodman on foxsports.com, who I usually like, was particularly whiny about Detroit). Do these guys realize that most fans would love to trade places for them (perhaps not their entire life, but for at least that night/event) and we don't really want to hear how their hotels were too far from the arena or how the weather was too chilly? Anyway, it was really nice to read an open-minded and enthusiastic appraisal of the experience and Detroit.
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Thanks, CH. I think the biggest difference is, I look what they did for the Final Four, vs. what kind of city it is. There's no doubt, in most people's eyes (mine included), Detroit does suck and it's cold. Once you get over that, you see how they stepped it up for the Final Four. They had so many people answering questions, guiding you, etc - the NCAA staffed it well. It's no secret that the economy is stuggling, but when they were given lemons, they made lemonade. Case in point - there were tons of vacant buildings close to Ford Field, I'm guessing, foreclosures. Instead of just keeping the places boarded up, they turned them into bars. Cities like Indy - there are not nearly enough restaurants and bars to house a Final Four crowd, Detroit made spaces, in parking ramps, lots, anywhere. Like I said, Ford Field was sooooo much nicer than places like the RCA Dome was or GeorgiaDome.

I guess for me, it's always the experience I have that influences my decision. People that can only have a good time as the best weekend of the year in a place like San Antonio - really aren't trying hard enough (and probably aren't fun to begin with, lol)!
 



I'm probably opening myself to some ridicule by admitting that I actually like Detroit. Greek Town, some cool museums, history, good food, and Comerica is a great place to watch a game. It's struggling and horribly segregated because most of the wealth moved into the suburbs, but there's much more there than Milwaukee.
 

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