NCAA Championship – Houston, Texas (April 1-5)

Justin:

If I had a bucket list, the Final Four would be on it.  It started in May 2015 when I entered two applications into the NCAA Final Four lottery, one of which was accepted.  This trip was all about basketball and food with some patience testing along the way.  

Darin and I booked our trip to Houston for the Friday night red-eye (upgraded to first class thanks to Darin) while my dad flew down the day before. He picked us up at 5am and we headed straight to the hotel to get some sleep.  Next we made a trip to Rudy's BBQ where we filled our tray with pay by the pound brisket, prime rib, sausage, ribs, coleslaw and creamed corn.  I thought it was cool that they let you sample the meats.  I really like this place.  Definitely coming back the next time I make it to Texas.

I was able to invite Derek Rowe, a college roommate, to take the 4th ticket and we met up with him at his house before the game.  His wife Heather dropped us off at NRG Stadium and the venue was carnival-like outside.  We took a few pictures on the lower level then headed up to our seats.  I knew they were center court but I figured I would be watching the big screen the whole time.  I was pleasantly surprised as our view was actually good enough to watch the live action play.  

Both games on Saturday night were not even close.  Villanova had the hot hand and beat Oklahoma in the biggest lopsided win in Final Four history.  North Carolina beat Syracuse in the second game pretty handily.  The four of us had a good time but would have preferred some closer games.  We ended the night with a Tex-Mex dinner at Pappasito's before heading back to the hotel.  It was fun to catch up with Derek.  I had not seen him in 10 years but it did not seem that long at all once we got together.  

Sunday morning we slept in, watched the first session of conference, then headed out for more barbeque.  This time it was the highly recommended Killen's on the southeast side of Houston.  We arrived to an hour long wait.  I am sure the rest of the line loved the free beers that were passed out. The food was great and worth the wait though a close second to Rudy's. 

Following our late lunch, we visited Johnson Space Center for a couple hours and that was all we needed.  Overall interesting but not super impressive. 

We hit Fuddrucker's on the way back to the hotel. 

Darin and I got in a 3.5 mile run Monday morning.  Quite a bit warmer than home.   We got cleaned up and made our way to lunch at Pappadeaux's Seafood Chicken.  We each ordered the Cajun Combo that came with a large catfish filet and shrimp creole.  Very good. 

There is not a lot to do in Houston so we decided on the Batman v Superman movie.  Next we met Derek at Fadi's Mediterranean, then we were off to the championship game.

And what a game it was!  Back and forth.  Exciting.  UNC up at the half.  Then Villanova pulled ahead by 10 points with 4 minutes left.  Then UNC came storming back and tied it with 4 seconds to go when Marcus Paige hit a double clutch 3 point shot.  The crowd roared and hundreds of seat cushions went flying across the stadium.  The crowd favored UNC and it looked like the game was going into overtime.  And then one of the greatest shots of all time, a miracle buzzer beater by Kris Jenkins to win the national championship.  

I was stunned, amazed, and grateful to have been an eye witness to this historical sporting event.  Actually hard to put words to it.  So glad I was able to experience it.  Just absolutely thrilling.  I am sure it is something we will talk about for years to come. I get the chills just thinking about it.