Operation: Unusual Travel Plans initiated

If you’ve been around for a while, then perhaps you remember that every year, (this being the second year) I pick 2 games, at random, so long as they are NCAA basketball, NCAA football, the NFL, MLB, or NHL, in which to attend. I added this to my plan to attend the Twins game played on my birthday. This year, the games were Valparaiso at Missouri-Kansas City in a January basketball contest. A couple weeks later, we tracked St. Bonaventure’s trip to Temple. That was a 5 post instant message nightmare. Lastly, I took a trip to Chicago to watch the Twins play the White Sox in a a game that was canceled because of cold.
So, I set the date for picking a new set of games at October 5th, which is my half birthday (did you get me a half present?), and conveniently, many of the schedules are or will soon be released. As scheduled, yesterday I picked the games for me to travel to. And I will be traveling this year.
How did I get my games, you may be asking. You also may be asking what the hell is wrong with me. I have an answer to only one of those questions. First, I collect all of the teams in the 5 leagues I would care to see in person, the NCAA both D-1 basketball and D 1-A football, the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NHL, and I have my computer randomly select one of them. It’s heavily weighted, of course, towards NCAA basketball, but thats fine, because there are a lot of games you would never see on TV, and I would rather vacation in the winter anyways. Next, I have the computer randomly select the game for me to go to. I do that twice, and then I’m ready to go. So let’s get to those games then.
My first selection was the Denver University basketball team, and their 25th game of the season. This seems like an easy process, but lo, Denver is playing the Coaches Versus Cancer classic, and while they are assigned at least 2 games, in Oklahoma, if they win both, if they can defeat cancer, then they will get additional games in New York City. If the Pioneers can get themselves to New York, this means, I will travel to North Texas to watch the Pioneers play the Mean Green in a Sun Belt conference clash. If they can win while in New York, I’ll go catch the Pioneers at home against Louisiana-Lafayette or Troy, depending on how many wins they get. If we go by the conventional wisdom, that Denver won’t win at Oklahoma, this means my first game is set as a Sun Belt conference clash between the Denver Pioneers and the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, in Monroe, Louisiana.

Now, let’s have a word about me. I grew up in, and still live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Minneapolis and St. Paul are some of the whitest cities this side of Moscow. You would think there is an undercurrent of racism, perhaps, in cities as homogeneous as these, but really, the only common stereotypes we have of African Americans here in the Cities is that black people play center field and chase high fastballs. That being said, I would feel out of place, say, at a Historically Black College. It’s just a totally different situation than I’ve ever been in. Fortunately, I went to Purdue, where there actually is ethnic diversity, because the second school I picked was Alabama State, and their 29th game, which happens to be the season finale at home against Jackson State, who actually made the tournament last year. Again, Historically Black College basketball game. Me in attendance. For reference:
So, that’ll be a new experience for me. Jackson State at Alabama State in Montgomery is my second game.

I was sort of hoping that I might pick up a school or two with their own bloggers, maybe find out a thing or two about the schools and the teams, but I haven’t been able to find any. The second thing I wanted, was for people to go with me. If there is anyone who wants to go to Monroe, Louisiana and watch some basketball on February 16th, drop me a line. Likewise to anyone who wants to go to Montgomery, Alabama on March 8th.
Now, you may be asking why I do this? Well, for one, I just like traveling, and I don’t care where to. It’s exciting this trip, though, because I’ve never been to Louisiana or Montgomery. More importantly, I like watching games. There’s nothing like the atmosphere of seeing a game in person, and there is a different atmosphere in every arena or stadium, and along with it, every game has a different story. Like I said, I like watching the games. sometimes in the fervor of ESPN, the blogosphere, and overwhelming statistical analysis, we forget that we like watching these sports. It’s probably a good idea for any sports fan to every once in a while to just get out to a game to enjoy yourself, and not necessarily live and die by it, or be overly cynical. You can see somethign exciting at every game, be it Dee Ayuba helping to lead the UMKC Kangaroos back in overtime, or Mark Tynsdale leading Temple to the century mark as he and his teamates drain three after three. I’m excited to go to these games, if you couldn’t tell.