Albuquerque Here We Come

At around noon today I will be hopping onto a charter with the Griz Basketball team, my co-workers, our dance team, our band, and some media personnel and we will fly south to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

With the team’s win in the Big Sky Conference Tournament last Wednesday, they punched their ticket to the Big Dance. This past Sunday, the Selection Committee rewarded the Griz with a #13 seed and a date against the #4 seeded Wisconsin Badgers in The Pit on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

I can’t wait for this experience. As we do not play until Thursday, we will have a full day and a half to soak up the sun in Albuquerque and really get a feel for the NCAA Tournament atmosphere. I have only attended the NCAA Tourney once, a couple years back in Spokane. The prestige and the competitiveness of the tournament gripped me, as well as seeing all the different teams, coaches, cheerleaders, mascots, and band members converging on one arena. It was special. To be able to attend as an employee for a participating school is pretty cool.

The Griz will have a shot against Wisconsin come Thursday. It has been a lot of fun watching the national analysts make their pick in our game. Doug Gottlieb (who I despise) and Andy Katz (who I like) both picked Montana to upset the Badgers. If Wisconsin wants to win, they will have to snap the longest win streak in the nation right now…not an easy task.

I can’t wait to share with you my NCAA Tournament experience. Let’s just hope it is on Sunday as opposed to Friday. Albuquerque here we come, GO GRIZ! Don’t Blink.

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