Final Four!

Frank has been saying all tournament that if Michigan made it to the Final Four we were heading to Atlanta to watch the games in person. We watched the Florida game almost in disbelief as Michigan steamrolled them, putting in the bench for the end of the game. Within minutes Frank was looking for tickets online while I watched the Duke vs. Louisville game. I was hoping that both our teams would make it to the Final Four but sadly my Blue Devils lost.

Right after work on Friday we loaded up the car (decorated with a few Michigan magnets, of course) and headed South stopping in Knoxville for the night before arriving in Atlanta at noon on Saturday. Frank drove the whole way and I was a lousy company since out of those eighteen hours I probably slept fifteen. I really appreciate Frank letting me sleep. I definitely needed the rest and it went a long way to helping me finally get rid of this lingering cold.

After getting to Atlanta we relaxed a bit, had an awesome late lunch at Flip Burger and headed to the Georgia Dome.

We walked around a bit and headed to Centennial Park to check out the celebrations.

There was a huge concert venue set up for the fans in town and we walked around and listened to Flo Rida for a while before heading back to the Georgia Dome for the game.

Our seats were in a really cool spot in the lower bowl behind one of the baskets and off to the side a bit. Although it wasn't always the best for seeing the game sometimes we were down low and relatively close which was nice. We also were right near where CBS was taping the Final Four show which was cool to see.

The first game was the Louisville Cardinals vs. the Wichita State Shockers. We watched the first ten minutes of the game and then did a lap around the concourse coming back to our seats just before halftime with the score pretty even.

At half time they played Christian Laettner's shot to win the Kentucky game in the 1992 NCAA tournament and then gave him an award. My Duke pride came out a bit watching the clip, I have to say...

Part way through the second half of the game we spotted the Michigan team watching the game off to the side.

The Shockers pulled out ahead of Louisville and were up by eleven at one point, seeming to have the game in hand. Louisville was not going to go down easily and rallied to end up winning the game.

We had forty minutes between the games and watched the teams warming up while the Final Four show for CBS was being taped.

Lucky for us the Wolverines entered for the game in a burst of smoke from just off to the left of where we were sitting. After being relaxed for the first game we were pretty amped up.

The game was a defensive struggle but Michigan built up a little lead over Syracuse going into the half.

In the second half Syracuse started chipping away at the lead and the last few minutes were pretty tense as it looked like Michigan might blow the game but it all worked out.
At the end of the game Frank and I ended up on TV a few times over the shoulder of the Michigan players while they were shooting free throws.

It was so exciting for Michigan to win and Frank just stood there in amazement about the fact the Michigan was heading to the title game to play for the National Championship.

We lingered for a bit soaking in the atmosphere and listening to John Beilein and Mitch McGary get interviewed.

It's been an exciting ride and I can't wait for the game tonight! Go Blue!