I journeyed an hour and a half up I-26 today with the wife and oldest son in tow to take in the basketball game in Columbia today. It was my first Tech sporting event in 8 years and my 6 1/2 year old son's first ever. Needless to say, he was pumped up. He has Tech gear all over his room and sleeps in my old Tech t-shirts for bed every night.
A recap:
-Driving towards the arena wasn't the most scenic view of Columbia but, right around the arena and that portion of campus had a really cool college-town feel.
-The crowd, including us, was still filling in about 5 minutes into the game but they ended up with a really good turnout and the atmosphere was legit, especially for a non-conference game. Each time their crowd was on the verge of exploding, it seemed Keenan would knock down a shot and take some wind out of their sails.
-The fans were great. Sat next to a 68-year old Carolina alum and his family and we talked throughout the game. He spent 40 years as a football/basketball coach in small-town South Carolina and he absolutely gushed over our team as a whole. He said it was obvious that our team was extremely well-coached and he hadn't seen such a versatile and athletic defense all season. After the game, the fans in general were quite nice and complimentary mentioning Keenan and Zhaire specifically. I was assured many, many times they aren't quite so cordial when Clemson comes to town. Zhaire absolutely had some jaws dropping after a couple of his dunks, especially the follow in the second half where he almost hit his head on the backboard.
-My son really wanted an autograph but I wasn't sure how I was going to make that happen since we were sitting opposite the visiting team's tunnel. After the game, as the fans were filing out, I saw Keenan walking across the court to go do an interview with ESPN and I took my son down there hoping we could get a quick autograph after the interview. Who comes walking up but Mr. Jayhawk Killa himself, Darryl Dora. I chatted him up for a minute, shook his hand, he shook my son's hand and signed his hat. He got Keenan to sign the hat too and they both thanked us for coming out. My son was on cloud nine after that and couldn't quit taking his hat off and looking at it.
-We walked to Wild Wing Café near the arena and enjoyed some quality time with a group of east coast Red Raiders in a get-together arranged by @raiderinsc. Though we didn't know a soul there, outside of the occasional RRS interaction, everyone made us feel welcome and we had a great time. A big plate of wings seemed appropriate after knocking off the Gamecocks.
-By the time we got home, I had been awake for all but 2 out of the last 36 hours since I worked Friday night, but it was all worth it. Guns up and Wreck 'Em!
A recap:
-Driving towards the arena wasn't the most scenic view of Columbia but, right around the arena and that portion of campus had a really cool college-town feel.
-The crowd, including us, was still filling in about 5 minutes into the game but they ended up with a really good turnout and the atmosphere was legit, especially for a non-conference game. Each time their crowd was on the verge of exploding, it seemed Keenan would knock down a shot and take some wind out of their sails.
-The fans were great. Sat next to a 68-year old Carolina alum and his family and we talked throughout the game. He spent 40 years as a football/basketball coach in small-town South Carolina and he absolutely gushed over our team as a whole. He said it was obvious that our team was extremely well-coached and he hadn't seen such a versatile and athletic defense all season. After the game, the fans in general were quite nice and complimentary mentioning Keenan and Zhaire specifically. I was assured many, many times they aren't quite so cordial when Clemson comes to town. Zhaire absolutely had some jaws dropping after a couple of his dunks, especially the follow in the second half where he almost hit his head on the backboard.
-My son really wanted an autograph but I wasn't sure how I was going to make that happen since we were sitting opposite the visiting team's tunnel. After the game, as the fans were filing out, I saw Keenan walking across the court to go do an interview with ESPN and I took my son down there hoping we could get a quick autograph after the interview. Who comes walking up but Mr. Jayhawk Killa himself, Darryl Dora. I chatted him up for a minute, shook his hand, he shook my son's hand and signed his hat. He got Keenan to sign the hat too and they both thanked us for coming out. My son was on cloud nine after that and couldn't quit taking his hat off and looking at it.
-We walked to Wild Wing Café near the arena and enjoyed some quality time with a group of east coast Red Raiders in a get-together arranged by @raiderinsc. Though we didn't know a soul there, outside of the occasional RRS interaction, everyone made us feel welcome and we had a great time. A big plate of wings seemed appropriate after knocking off the Gamecocks.
-By the time we got home, I had been awake for all but 2 out of the last 36 hours since I worked Friday night, but it was all worth it. Guns up and Wreck 'Em!
