March Sadness and The List

I have documented in this space my love of college basketball and my annual trip to the Final Four with a great group of friends. Over the past thirty-eight years, I have been fortunate to attend 115 Final Four basketball games (semifinals and finals) since my first one in 1982. Needless to say, some of those games have been blowouts, some have been very competitive and some have been classics. 

Since there aren't any games this year, a lot of lists are being created. Twitter is full of them.  This is MY list. A list of the best games I've seen. 

When I think about what makes a classic college basketball game, I think of story lines, buzzer beaters, stakes and upsets. The stakes for all of these games couldn't be higher. All of these games are for a berth in the National Championship game or for the title so that almost eliminates that factor. But I have broken these down into semifinal games and championship tilts. While there have been some great semifinal games, there is a special place for games played with a title on the line.

A few years ago, I wrote a post about some of the great title games that we have been able to witness. That was an "off the top of my head" ranking and there have been a few great games since then. The list below includes a bit deeper look with the above considerations factored in.

Here is the pool of games that I have witnessed and from which these lists are compiled. The games in red were one possession games. Click on year and date for full tournament bracket.

Beating Around the Bushes

The recent passing of former President George H.W. Bush reminded me of my "experience" with him and his wife Barbara. While it was not a personal experience, I was close enough to them that it felt personal.

As I have documented, I am a college basketball fan and I annually attend the game's season finale. Houston hosted the 2011 Final Four. Butler beat VCU and Connecticut beat Kentucky on Saturday's semifinal games setting up a "canine" championship match up between the Butler Bulldogs and the UConn Huskies.

Despite the seventh row listed on the tickets, we were pleasantly surprised to see our seats had no seats in front of us when we got to them about a half hour before the tip off.

After we got settled, an extended golf cart pulled up just in front of us. Sitting on the back seat of the cart were former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara.

Houston was their adopted hometown and they were not going to miss one of the city's biggest sporting events. They were helped to their seats a couple rows in front of us and right in our line to the court.

The cart rolls up and unloads President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara

Shot at the Alamo

I've written about my Final Four adventures before. This year brought another interview. This time by Blair Kerkoff, long time Kansas City Star sportswriter, U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Famer and author of several books.

He and Kansas City Star photojournalist, Allison Long, came to our hotel, The Crockett Hotel,, which is across the street from the Alamo, to interview our group on the Saturday of Final Four weekend.

Despite the rather awkward setting, sitting on the beds in our hotel room, we had a lot of laughs as well recalled some of our memories from the last four decades. The six of us had over 160 Final Fours attended all together.

I was reminded how lucky I am to have a wife and family that are tolerant and understanding of my love for college basketball, to have employees and businesses that allow me to be away each year. and health, despite a scare, that has allowed me to attend.

I am also lucky to have some great friends, who are as fortunate as I am, to be able to share this weekend with each year.

So here is this year's version of the gang that keeps showing up:

Thirty-seven consecutive Final Fours and counting, hoops are this group's bond

Christopher Korth of Kansas City and Doug Knust of Chamberlain, S.D., are attending their 37th consecutive Final Four. They and friends who have been going to the NCAA Tournament semifinals and finals for 15-30 years plan their trips long in advance.

Picking Up the Pieces in New Orleans

Craig and Chris looking like Bourbon Street veterans!

As I have told in previous posts, my first Final Four was in New Orleans in 1982. Neither my Dad, Chris, Craig not I had been to the Crescent City before. We soon learned that Bourbon Street was not for the faint of heart.

Our first night there, we found a place on each end of Bourbon Street to buy a beer. Soon we had established a routine of buying a beer at one end of Bourbon and stumbling walking to the other end for a refill. It would take 45 minutes to an hour to walk from one end to the other because the street was very crowded and there was so much going on.

Fans from each of the participating Final Four schools would break into a spontaneous cheers whenever they would meet another group from their school. This would encourage fans in the area from other schools to start their own cheers and soon there were four spontaneous pep rallies going on.

Everything was done with great spirits (pun intended) and made for much fun. The cheers got louder as the evening wore on and we got caught up in the excitement.

If you've been to the French Quarter, you know not everything is good CLEAN fun. There are "Gentleman's Clubs" on Bourbon and on some of the side streets in the Quarter.

There was then (and still was the last time I was there) a "club" that had a fake pair of scantily clad legs swinging in and out of the front window of the storefront to garner the attention of "gentlemen". There was a barker hawking people to come in to the establishment.

After several "laps" on Bourbon Street, we found ourselves walking down the sidewalk in front of this enterprise with the doorman trying to separate us from our $10 (or whatever the cover charge was back then). I would like to point out that drink prices were NOT advertised outside this establishment!!

With one of their new friends!

As we were talking and observing people's antics, my Dad walked over by the front of this joint and sneeked a peek in when the door opened as someone was exiting. The "dentally impaired" marketeer who seconds earlier was inviting us to go in, bellowed at him for sneaking a peak (as if one could actually see anything in the two seconds it took for the door to open and then close).

That disrespect toward my Dad was unacceptable to Craig and he had indulged in enough "liquid courage" to tell "Mr. Doorman" just what he thought of his attitude toward Dad. Craig called him a couple of names that I've only heard in the cowboy bars of western South Dakota (usually punctuated with a stream of snus!).

Several guys associated with this fine establishment seemed to appear out of no where to let Craig know that they were going to "assert their authority". They surrounded him and tried to intimidate him.

Chris, always the peacemaker and hoping to help prevent a physical confrontation (Craig's reputation as one who sported a stellar record in college bar fights had preceded him), informed them that Craig "had a piece" (meaning that he had a gun).

Chris posing with police after the incident.

Within seconds (literally), two New Orleans cops had Craig up against the wall and were frisking him and looking for his gun. Craig was trying to explain he had no gun while Chris was telling anyone who would listen that he (Chris) was just bluffing. The immediate problem was that no one of any importance in the matter was listening.

The entire sequence of events happened so quickly that it is hard to explain. It happened as fast as or faster than it took you to read this. Meanwhile, Dad was still trying to sneak a peek and I was trying to figure out how we are going to get Craig out of jail.

Fortunately, when the police did not find a "piece" on Craig, things calmed down in a hurry. Craig received a stern warning. Chris should have received a warning but he had moved on to the next "thing" - whatever that turned out to be. (Looking at the above photo, it must have been getting the cops to pose in a photograph!) Dad never really knew anything about it until after it was over. I barely had time to get scared. I had made enough "laps" on Bourbon Street that it was funny pretty quickly!

What could have been a rather disastrous incident on first Final Four trip turns out to be one of those "must tell" stories that we re-live over and over!

Don't Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

One of my favorite Final Four memories happened in 1985 in Lexington, Kentucky. That year, my wife, Judy, attended the event with me. This was BC (Before we had Children).

The tournament was on Easter weekend that year. On Easter Sunday we spent a good part of the morning searching for a Catholic church. We finally were able to find one. It seemed as though Judy and I, Chris (my long-time Final Four partner), Tim (a friend who attended with us that year) the Catholic coaches from around the country (Ray Meyer, Digger Phelps, etc.) and their wives were the only Catholics in the state of Kentucky (or at least in Lexington that weekend).

After church, we decided to see if we could tour of one of many Thoroughbred horse farms in the area. We got on the main road heading out of Lexington. As we drove west out of town, we noticed a bus pulling in to a driveway of what was obviously a horse farm. We decided to follow the bus.

As we entered the driveway, there was a sign that said "Gainesway Farm". The driveway was lined with picket fence and bluegrass. We pulled up to the guard station at the head of the driveway. As we approached, I rolled down the window and the security guard—armed, no less—asked our name.

I replied,'"Knust, K-N-U-S-T," spelling it for him as if he was going to find it on his list.

Gainsway Farm from the highway

"I don't see that on my list, sir. Could I see you invitation?" he responded.

Seeing that we were in over our heads, I told him that we had forgotten it back at the motel and offered to go get it. Just then, from the back seat, Chris bellowed (as only Chris can bellow), "We're with the press!" Tim, Judy and I all rolled our eyes at Chris, who had judged this as a perfect opportunity to try a bullshit line.

The security guard looked in the backseat at Chris (who was dressed just like a sportswriter!) and told us we could enter, but asked us to cover for him and not to let anyone know that we didn't show our-invitation.

I replied, "No problem," and we were on our way up the 1/2 to 3/4 mile driveway.

The driveway at Gainsway Farm

At the end of the driveway, another armed security guard asked to see our invitation. I didn't even have an opportunity to speak before Chris chimed in. He obviously was not going to let this "schmuck" stop us after his success at the front gate.

Once again he explained that we were "with the press and that we had forgotten our invitation back at the motel. The security guard waved us by and we proceeded to the parking area where we parked between a pair of Mercedes and behind a BMW. (We were in my 1983 Chevrolet Malibu company car).

My 1983 Company Car Malibu

Chris absolutely took over from this point. We were there about two minutes before we learned that this was a press function. Gainsway Farm was holding an open house to promote Thoroughbred horse racing to the many sportwriters who were in the area for the Final Four. There were quite a few other people (sports writers) there who, like Chris, were wearing a T-shirt from one of their previous Final Four trips.

We were guided on an extremely interesting tour of the facility and learned all about Thoroughbred horses and the breeding process. Chris was asking questions at every opportunity. I think most of those in our tour thought that he was preparing a feature article for his publication.

Judy was nervous to start with, but became more and more nervous with each question Chris asked. We had lied to get in and she was certain that we would leave in handcuffs.

After the hour-long tour, we were led into a large open-air barn—about the size of a basketball court. In the middle of this facility were some tables with mountains of finger sandwiches, heavy hors d'oeuvres, and desserts. There was a bar at each end of the "walking barn". As we.went.through the line of food, Judy had a look of absolute terror on her face while Chris, Tim and I were thinking we might just spend the rest of the day here!

This barn was full of food and drinks!

We proceeded to the bar where we were given a betting form and card for a horse race. The Jim Beam Stakes, a Breeder's Cup race, was being held in Florence, KY (near Cincinnati) that afternoon. There were several large screen TV's scattered throughout the gazebo. They would be showing the race on closed-circuit. We were encouraged to bet on the race. One of the forms with the correct pick would be and the winner would receive a case of Jim Beam.

When Tim's form, with the Wichita Sunflower (Wichita State University newspaper) as his affiliated newspaper, was a winner—and entered into the drawing after the race, I thought Judy was going to pass out. We waited for the drawing (Tim didn't win), and left soon after for the health of my wife.

Pretty sure this is the only time Judy smiled that afternoon!

As I reflect on the events of that afternoon, I regret not administering a bit of "Kentucky tonic" to Judy. I think she might have enjoyed both the medicine and the tour! That afternoon we redefined "March Madness" in her eyes!

There is just as much horse sense as ever, but the horses have most of it.  ~Author Unknown

March Madness and My Road to the Final Four

As you may know, I am a regular attendee of college basketball's pinnacle, the Final Four. This year, my road to the Final Four at AT&T Stadium in Dallas may be a long and winding one.
I am a Creighton University alumnus and Bluejay basketball fan. I also represent South Dakota's new automobile dealers on our national association board of directors. These three interests converge over the next month to create a crazy, hectic road for me from Chamberlain, SD to Dallas, TX.
I have decided to blog daily about my road trip. It starts with a day at National Automobile Dealers Association committee meeting in Washington, DC. My family will then join me for the 4-day Big East Mens Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
From there I will trek across the county to Redondo Beach, CA for three days for a National Automobile Dealers Association Retirement Trust meeting. Following the NADART meeting, I plan to hit first and second round games wherever the Creighton Bluejays play. That will be 3+ days in one of eight cities - Buffalo, Orlando, Milwaukee, St. Louis, San Antonio, Spokane, Raleigh or San Diego. I won't know until Selection Sunday which is March 19. I currently have rooms booked in each of these cities.

So I will pack my bag for two weeks. It will be full of suits, dress shirts, ties and Creighton Bluejays apparel. Unfortunately, that is just a bit too long for me to travel by carry-on. I'll probably have to pack a little laundry soap as well!
I hope to update this blog at least daily and perhaps more often if events warrant it! So check back for updates.

GO JAYS!!!

Update: 10:30 AM EDT, 3/16/2014

So the trip to Washington, D.C. went fine and my meeting ended a bit early. I went to Union Station to see if I could get on a train for NYC earlier than the 5:00 PM train on which I was booked. I had read that Amtrak will allow you to move your time up and that's what happened to me.

I got on the 2:00 PM Acela Express and arrived at Penn Station in NYC shortly after 5:00 PM. After a rain soaked walk from Penn Station to my motel (about 4 blocks), I checked in, unpacked and checked on the arrival times of the rest of the family.

The South Dakota delegation was experiencing some delays but the DC group was set for an on time arrival. I call an old classmate that I knew was coming in for the games and we met up at on of the Bluejay bars.

Eventually we made our way to the Garden to watch the end of Seton Hall's victory over Butler and then saw DePaul upset Georgetown. After the games, we met up with daughter Rachel and son-in-law Andrew for a cocktail before calling it an evening.

The South Dakota delegation did not make it in on Wednesday evening and were scheduled to arrive late Thursday morning after another Delta disaster.

Thursday brought the late morning arrival of wife Judy, son Alex and daughter Sarah. After lunch at Greek Corner near our hotel, we decided to go the second afternoon game. We watch Seton Hall's upset of tournament top seed Villanova while at lunch. Providence out-battled St. John's in the second afternoon clash.

We grabbed some dinner between games and headed in to watch the Blujays' game with DePaul. The Jays took care of business and Xavier beat Marquette to set up a third Creighton/Xavier class of the year.

We did not get out of the basketball games until after midnight. Judy and Sarah we tired. Alex was ready to rally with a bunch of friends. We turned in for the evening while the night was just getting started for the rest of them.

On Friday, we played tourist. We walked up 7th Avenue to Times Square and then over to Rockefeller Center before making our way over to Brooklyn for our late afternoon dinner reservation at Peter Luger's steakhouse, which is one of my all-time favorite places.

Our group of 15 had a great meal and a wonderful time and unique dining experience. The steakhouse lived up to my very strong billing!!

It was off to the Creighton/Xavier game from there. The Jays had another strong performance and took care of the Musketeers before Providence ended the Seton Hall season. Again, Judy, Sarah and I were tired and the rest had to rally!

On Saturday morning we went to the 911 Memorial and Battery Park before making our way to Broadway to see an afternoon performance of The Book of Mormon. We all enjoyed the musical very much.

We hustled back to the Creighton team hotel (eventually taking 2 pedi-cabs) from the show to go to the Birds of Pray Creighton mass.

After mass, it was a quick dash through the pizza parlor on our way to the Garden for the championship game. Providence was in a "must win" situation to get into the NCAA tournament and they played like it. They executed a very shrewd game plan, slowed the game down and hit crucial shots.

Meanwhile, the Bluejays had tired legs and could not hit the crucial shots. The result was a disappointing 65-58 loss for the Jays.

The Creighton fans had nothing to hang their heads about though as their team played hard and in front of a staggering number of Bluejay faithful. Every other team in attendance was surprised and the number of fans who had made their way from Omaha and other points around the Midwest to follow their beloved Jays. It made it a lot of fun for all Bluejay fans.

We headed back to the motel to pack, knowing that the 6:00 AM wake up call would come too early. It did but we made it to Laguardia in plenty of time for Delta to delay our flights - mine to Minneapolis then Los Angeles and Judy, Alex and Sarah's to Minneapolis then Sioux Falls.

We all had a great time despite the championship game loss. It was great to spend time together as a family. It was fun to renew friendships with CU buddies for all of us. Especially enjoyed seeing my classmate Bryan Beam and his sister. Also had the son of another great Creighton friend join us for the weekend.

I am hoping to catch my connection to LA as I write this having sat at the LaGuardia gate for 45 minutes while mechanics were fixing the intercom.

Update 7:00 PM CDT, 3/25/2014

So I made my connection to Los Angeles in Minneapolis. I arrived in Los Angeles about 1:30 pm local time.

That gave me enough time to watch some basketball and time for a workout and before our dinner that evening.

We ate at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes. Before dinner, we enjoyed quite a show. God was entertaining with a beautiful sunset, whales and dolphins. It was magnificent.

After a very nice dinner, we made our way back to our motel, The Portofino, in Redondo Beach. I was exhausted and ready to call it a night.

I had a golf game at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles the next morning. Trump National was a spectacular course in a breathtaking setting but it probably wasn't the place to play your first golf game of the season. Every teebox had a view of the ocean (and very little view of the fairway!).

We played on a perfect day, 72 degrees and a breeze blowing off the ocean. The huge American flag can be seen from every point on the golf course. I like that. The golf course is a true gem. It is everything you would expect in a championship course overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It did kick my ass!!!

That evening brought another nice dinner and an early bedtime - which was greatly appreciated as I was still somewhere between Eastern and Central Daylight time!

Wednesday was an all-day meeting followed by dinner at Jay Leno's The Comedy and Magic Club. It's a comedy club, so the tables are small and the food is mediocre. That seems to always be the case at these places. But the entertainment was great. I laughed for two hours straight.

The next day was a meeting until noon and then more golf. This time is was historic Palos Verdes Golf Club. Built in 1924, this course had beautiful ocean and mountain vistas throughout our round of golf. It was a much more forgiving course as well and I appreciated that so early in the golf season.

My golf partners for the two days were great. I enjoy golfing with someone who loves the game but does not take themselves too seriously. Jim, Jason and Jim were just that - great partners who loved golf and played quite well.

After an informal dinner with some NADART friends who were still in town, I moved to the Hampton Inn near the airport since I had a 6:00 am flight the next morning.

My flight to San Antonio was early but went well. I made my connection in Salt Lake City and arrived in San Antonio about 1:30 CDT. I rode to our downtown hotel with cabbie Martin who turned out to be our escort for the weekend.

I knew that rides to and from the AT&T Arena were going to be a challenge so I talked to Martin about taking care of us. He did just that for our entire stay in San Antonio including a ride to the airport for Alex and then me on Monday after the basketball games.

Since Rachel and Andrew and Alex did not arrive until later that evening, I had the day to myself. After doing some laundry (a must on a two-week trip), I headed for the Riverwalk. I found a sports bar and planted myself at the bar for the evening.

While patrons would come and go, I could strike up a conversation with anyone about college basketball as I sat there watching three televisions. The cocktails were good, the food was adequate and the view of the basketball games was tremendous. I was happy!

Both of the flights made it in on time and we all met up at the Doubletree Hotel bar where we were staying. Everyone was tired but ready for some Bluejay basketball.

We got going late the next morning and took off for the arena at about 10:30 am. Nebraska and Baylor tipped at 11:45 and we wanted to watch it all.

Baylor beat Nebraska in a very ugly basketball game. Creighton took care of business against Louisiana-Lafayette to set up a matchup on Sunday against Baylor which scared me right after seeing Baylor play. They were long and athletic, just the combo to cause a matchup problem for the Bluejays.

After a break at the only sports bar for miles between sessions, Alex and made our way back for the Providence/North Carolina game. That was a great game as UNC pulled it out at the end. Iowa State took care of business against North Carolina Central setting up a UNC/ISU matchup on Sunday.

We met up with Rachel and Andrew, who went out to dinner with some friends who drove down from Austin, for a nitecap at the hotel bar. We caught the last two games of the evening on TV.

Saturday was a fun day in San Antonio. We started at the Alamo, followed by lunch at a other sports bar on the Riverwalk with some Creighton friends. Next we went to the smoke shop to get some cigars (which we never smoked) and then to Pat O'Brien's piano bar for music and mint juleps.

Then it was back to the Riverwalk to the Creighton bar for a pep rally followed by a walk to Mi Tierra, a rather famous San Antonio Mexican restaurant. By then, we had all had enough to eat and drink and we turned in for the evening.

Sunday was game day - Bluejays and Baylor. We had lunch and watch games at a great bar called The Esquire. Excellent traditional cocktails and original cocktails were their specialty. The cocktail perfectionist would appreciate the big square ice cubes that started every drink. I enjoyed watching the mixologists who only mixed cocktails - they were not distracted by taking orders from the patrons. Other servers handled that task. I highly recommend The Esquire if you get to San Antonio.

From ther, we made our wat to the AT&T Arena - the site of the masacre. Unfortunately, the Baylor Bears mauled the Bluejays. It was a tough matchup for Creighton but they did not have their "A" game that night and the final 30-point margin reflected that.

I will save my reflections of the Bluejays magical season for another post but you can find Coach McDermott's post-game talk to the team here and a good analysis of how most Bluejays fans felt after the game here.

We had a post-game meal at Mi Tierra and then back to the motel. Alex had an early 6:00 AM flight and Rachel and Andrew had a 9:00 AM flight. I did not fly out until 2:40 PM and went home by way of Atlanta. I arrived back to Sioux Falls at 9:20 PM completing my 13-day junket.

Delta had totally destroyed my bag on the NYC-LAX leg of the trip but I felt more wiped out than my bag looked. It was great to sleep in my own bed!

The Fever

If most college basketball fans get "March Madness", the real fanatics get "February Fever". They know that those conference games in February will decide who wins the regular season titles and get the spoils that go with that.

Count me in that group. When I tear the January page from my calendar, I start thinking about those critical conference games, then the conference tournaments, "Selection Sunday" and the three greatest weekends of the year that follow. I also think about that last weekend and and check to make sure all my plans are set for my annual Final Four trip with a group of friends. So today it starts.

When people hear that I have been to 31 straight Final Fours, usually the first question they ask is about where I get tickets. Tickets aren't a problem - there are always more than 60,000 of them and sometimes more than 70,000. The much more precious asset is a motel room within walking distance of the festivities. We are always working on this and have booked motel rooms up to four years in advance. Unfortunately, we have also been more than a half hour drive out and that's not fun!

My annual calendar has had a December reminder to buy airline tickets to the Final Four host city for twenty years. In 1993, we waited too long to buy tickets and ended up driving to New Orleans! About half the trip from South Dakota to New Orleans is through Missouri. Hey Missourians, you don't need to "Show Me", I already saw it!!!

February means it's time to start putting the polish on the trip. It's time to make reservations at a great steakhouse for our Sunday evening feast (perhaps my favorite part of the weekend). We have dined at some of the best steakhouses in the world. Our pursuit of great charred mammal flesh has taken us to Manny's in Minneapolis, St. Elmo in Indianapolis, Bones in Atlanta, Shula's in Tampa and Indianapolis, Little Rhein in San Antonio, Mike Shannon's in St. Louis, McKendrick's in Atlanta, Bohanan's in San Antonio, The Rattlesnake Club in Detroit, Vic & Anthony's in Houston, and my personal favorite, Peter Lugar's in Brooklyn. I am looking forward to a Sunday night feast at Kevin Rathbun Steak in Atlanta this April.

Sometimes it makes more sense to go with the local cuisine rather than a steakhouse. That's the plan when we go to New Orleans where we have dined at Commander's Palace and Restaurant August. August is worthy of special mention here because the chef's tasting menu, "Degustation", is perhaps the best dining experience I have ever had. I highly recommend it!

We also like to experience the host city a bit and February means it's time to book that as well. A "host city experience" can include everything from a swamp tour, to a tour of the Indianapolis Speedway, to a visit to the Alamo, to a trip to the top of the Arch or the Space Needle. We have taken in a baseball game or hit the links. A Sunday afternoon walk down Bourbon Street or the River Walk usually ends up with us sitting in one of the local taverns talking college basketball!

In recent years, we've had to build a little time into our schedule for the media. It seems making it to 30+ Final Fours is a news worthy event practically everywhere! It certainly has made a great conversation topic through the years.

As the NCAA commemorates its 75th Final Four this year, it has been fun to watch the media pay tribute to the special teams, players, coaches and moments in the history of March Madness. It is surprising how many of those extraordinary moments we have been fortunate enough to witness in person.

This year's traveling party includes six other friends who have attended over one hundred Final Fours combined. Chris Korth, a former classmate at Creighton University, is a lawyer in Kansas City and my travel companion for all 31 trips. Emmet Kenney (23 trips) is a psychiatrist from Fargo, ND and was also a classmate at Creighton. Bren Abbott (19 trips) is an attorney from Kansas City. Calvin Rider (20 trips) and Matt Hesse (11 trips) are attorneys from Wichita, KS. Abbott, Rider and Hesse were law school classmates of Korth at Washburn University in Topeka, KS. John Pollard (5 trips) is a dentist from Fargo, ND. Between the six of us, we have 140 trips.

Chris and I have not missed a Final Four since our first in 1982 when Michael Jordan’s game-winning jump shot lifted North Carolina to the 1982 title over Patrick Ewing and Georgetown. We have taken in some 93 Final Four games, in 19 different venues in 15 states and watched 45 different teams represent their respective schools. This year we return to the Georgia Dome for our 94th, 95th and 96th Final Four games.

Memories? Yeah, we have a few. In addition to Jordan's game winner, Dereck Whittenburg’s high-arching air ball that Lorenzo Charles grabbed for the game-winning dunk as Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack edged the talent-loaded Houston Cougars for the 1983 championship came in year two. We saw Keith Smart's shot arching high float through the air before splashing through the net to give Bob Knight’s 1987 Indiana Hoosiers a one-point title game victory over Syracuse in year six.

One of the best parts of March Madness is the little guy taking out the favorite. I loved the 2006 run of George Mason as they knocked off Michigan State, North Carolina and UConn en route to the Final Four. Butler's runs to the title game in 2010 and 2011 were thrilling as well.

Because this season is one of college hoops' most interesting and wide open in recent memory, there is hope that the beloved Creighton Bluejays could make a run. Led by National Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott, the Jays are poised to be a tough out in March.

Creighton in Atlanta? In April? That is "The Fever" combined with "March Madness" plus symptoms of "Unrealistic Expectations" - it could be terminal (what a way to go!). I won't get my hopes up - but that would be Final Four nirvana for this hoops fan!

31 & Counting

I have just returned from my 31st annual reunion with friends at the Final Four in New Orleans. While the basketball was great, the annual renewal of friendships is the highlight of the trip. And though Bourbon Street is fun, it's not near the draw it used to be. I enjoyed the pubs and restaurants just off Bourbon Street more than those right in the middle of the chaos. 

Again this year, our story seemed to be compelling enough to cover by a couple of different publications. NADA Headlines covered the story here in their Championship Monday emailing. That story came about after I had an NADA Public Affairs meeting right before I went to New Orleans. I was telling the story and David Hyatt, NADA Vice President of Public Affairs, thought it would be a timely story for the Championship Monday edition of the e-publication.

Wichita Eagle
4/1/2012

We were the subjects of an article in the Wichita Eagle on the Sunday (April 1) of the Final Four weekend. Eagle reporter Paul Suellentrop came to the Rathbone Mansions Bed & Breakfast where we were staying and interviewed all seven of us. Despite his best efforts to interview us in pairs, eventually it became the free-for-all that I am sure he wanted to avoid at all costs. It was a fun interview for us because it gave us an opportunity to relive some "Glory Days". I have not been able to find it online but you can click on the scan and read it.

Our visit to Louisiana this time included a swamp tour. I shot a little footage of the tour. We didn't see any Swamp People, but we saw our share of alligators including a couple of big ones. It was interesting to see the swamp up close.

This was our fifth visit to "The Big Easy" for the Final Four. It is a great venue for the event (despite the rain during each of the past three visits). I hope to go back! Maybe next time I can cheer on the Bluejays!

KHOU Interview

So making it to 30 Final Fours is a news worthy event even in Houston!

Hey Mom! I made the front page!!!

I was in my motel in Washington, DC after an NADA dinner on the Tuesday before Final Four weekend. I got a call from   from the Mitchell Daily Republic asking me for an interview about thirty Final Four trips. The interview lasted about 45 minutes and I swear that he was having more fun than me.

He was asking about various Final Fours and whether or not I saw them - and I did - every one of them in the past thirty years. I had fun reliving different games through the years. I have to say, I was surprised how vivid my recall was.

I have commented many times before that we have seen some great basketball but as the years pass, it truly is more about renewing friendships on an annual basis more than anything else.

Cheers boys! Here's to 30 more!

Thirty Years of Madness for this Final Four Duo

Knust (left) and Korth (right) at last year's Final Four in Indianapolis.

Every avid college hoops fan has seen the replay of Michael Jordan’s game-winning jump shot to lift North Carolina to the 1982 title over Patrick Ewing and Georgetown. Houston fans have had nightmares about Dereck Whittenburg’s high-arching air ball that Lorenzo Charles grabbed for the game-winning dunk as Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State Wolfpack edged the Cougars for the 1983 championship. The image of Keith Smart's shot arching high through the air before splashing through the net to give Bob Knight’s 1987 Indiana Hoosiers a one-point title game victory over Syracuse is familiar to most college hoops fans.

Choose any of the great Final Four moments of the last thirty years, Doug Knust and Chris Korth have been there to witness them. Knust, a car dealer from Chamberlain, South Dakota and Korth, an attorney from Kansas City, Missouri will be in Houston for this year’s Final Four. It will be the thirtieth consecutive Final Four that they have attended together. It’s a streak that started when they were seniors at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Knust and Korth were juniors at Creighton 1981. In March of that year, they were looking for a place to watch the NCAA basketball tournament. They knew that ESPN was covering early round games but, unfortunately for them, the games were only on cable TV and Omaha’s cable provider did not carry ESPN. However, ESPN was available in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is just across the state line.

Korth called over to a bar in Council Bluffs and got the good news that yes, they have cable and yes, they have a big screen TV (those were rare in 1981). The bad news was that they did not open till 5pm. However after a little begging and pleading they agreed to let Knust and Korth bring several of their friends in for a special private basketball watch party in their basement starting at 10 am. The next day, after thirteen hours of basketball, they emerged from the basement, weary eyed but hooked on the NCAA Tournament.

During the games that day in 1981, the NCAA ran a commercial promising a "chance" to go to next year’s Final Four. Simply call a long distance phone number and for a charge of $1.50 the NCAA will send you an application to enter the "lottery" to win tickets. Knust called in and got the application. He applied for the maximum at the time of four tickets (cleaning out his checkbook in the process). Knust says he’s not sure how much money he had to send in or where he got it. Several weeks later, he got the news that his name was drawn in the lottery and that he would be receiving four tickets for the 1982 Final Four in New Orleans. Now the problem: how does a pair of college students with no money, no credit cards and no plans get to New Orleans for the Final Four?

“I didn’t know how we would be able to get to New Orleans or where we would stay if we went,” recalls Knust. “Then I had a brainstorm. I decided to give a ticket to my Dad for his birthday in October thinking that maybe he would want to take me along, since I had my own ticket!”

Well Knust’s father, Harry, thought it would be a great idea if he and his son and a couple of his friends would make the trip to college basketball’s pinnacle. Korth made plans for airfare and the motel. Harry stepped up and paid for the motel room and the rest is history.

Knust and Korth, at the age of 21, attended their first Final Four in New Orleans in 1982. The entire weekend was magical and the basketball was unbelievable.

Korth tells a story from their first trip, “One late night, in a hotel lobby, we ran into then DePaul Coach Ray Meyer, one of the deans of the coaching profession. We got to personally meet, talk with and take pictures with Meyer.” Korth says, “He treated us as long lost friends, talking about his ‘love of the game’ for several hours. In the process, he infected us with a love of the game.”

Oh yeah, some North Carolina freshman makes a last minute basket to win a thrilling game for his team. His name is Michael Jordan. Knust and Korth were hooked!

Knust and Korth have not missed a Final Four since then, taking in some 87 Final Four games, in 18 different venues in 15 states and watching 46 different teams represent their respective schools. This year Reliant Stadium will be the nineteenth venue and the 88th, 89th and 90th Final Four games.

“One of the first things people usually ask me is something about which was the best or my favorite,” commented Knust. “That’s a bit like asking a father which is his best or favorite child. I’ve enjoyed all of them. Sometimes it’s the great games. Sometimes it’s the great individual performance. Sometimes it’s a great visit with one of the great coaches in the college game. Sometimes it’s a great restaurant. Each one is unique and wonderful in its own way.”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you!” Knust joked when asked how they get tickets. “We used to get them through the lottery but we now turn to the scalpers to get our seats.”

Knust and Korth have been accompanied by various friends and family members through the years. Their group has been as large as 25-30 people and as small as 4 people. A couple of their friends have joined them for more than fifteen Final Fours.

“Needless to say, a streak like this requires an understanding spouse. My wife’s birthday is April 1st. I have been gone for quite a few of her birthdays over the years,” commented Knust. “That might just make her birthday a bit happier!”

Knust talked about how at the beginning, it was all about the basketball. As the years have gone by, however, he appreciates the opportunity to get together with great friends each year. “The basketball is still great and a big part of it, but I really love getting together with my friends,” says Knust.

“One tradition that we started about fifteen years ago was to visit a fine steakhouse in the host city on the Sunday evening,” told Knust. “It has really become one of the highlights of the weekend. There’s nothing like washing down good steak with a few beers or a couple of glasses of bourbon!”

When the streak started, Houston’s Guy Lewis and his Phi Slamma Jamma teams were near the top of the college basketball world. There was no such thing as a three-point shot or shot clock in college basketball. The tall, skinny players wore shorts that exposed their legs to mid-thigh.

This year, their party includes five other friends who have attended over ninety Final Fours between them. Emmet Kenney (21 trips) is a psychiatrist from Fargo, ND and a classmate of Knust and Korth at Creighton University. Bren Abbott (17 trips) is an attorney from Kansas City. Calvin Rider (18 trips) and Matt Hesse (9 trips) are attorneys from Wichita, KS. Abbott, Rider and Hesse were law school classmates of Korth at Washburn University in Topeka, KS. John Pollard (3 trips) is a dentist from Fargo, ND.

Knust said he’s looking forward to going to Houston. This the first time Houston has hosted the Final Four since 1971, before Knust and Korth started attending. When asked what was on their agenda besides basketball, Korth said, “We might visit a couple of Houston’s watering holes!”

They will be eating at Vic & Anthony’s on Sunday evening. While there will be plenty of discussion about college basketball at dinner, it’s a fair bet that there will be some conversation about an upcoming trip to New Orleans, the site of next year’s Final Four.

Crashing Letterman

In 1996, when the Final Four was at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, NJ, we scored tickets to the Letterman show. This is what happened: