Thoughts from Indy

[superjohn]

We were built for and would’ve beat any normal, elite team on Monday night. We weren’t built to beat the AVENGERS. and yet we only lost by 6 points

We weren't built to beat 8 vs 5.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

We were built for and would’ve beat any normal, elite team on Monday night. We weren’t built to beat the AVENGERS. and yet we only lost by 6 points

We didn't even need a fair whistle. If the refs called half of the instances where their bigs pushed our players under the rim when a shot went up to give them an advantage on the rebounds or called the BS that Cadeau pulled all game then we would have won.

Two Plays that still bother me:

Very early, Cadeau approached the baseline, wrapped both forearms around the ball (like a running back), took three steps across the lane, barely in bounds, takes another step around Demary and puts a shot up, gets an and one call instead of a blatant travel.

With only a few minutes left in the game (this had to have been something they planned in practice if they saw it in the game) as Demary is dribbling across the top of the key, Mullins moves from the lane to set a slip screen, then move opposite Demary (a play we've run countless times this season). Cadeau, instead of continuing a basketball play, runs through Mullins (like a fullback in short yardage) by putting his head in the middle of Mullins chest and driving through him. Foul called on Mullins (I believe we were about to make it a one possession game at the time).

 

[Horatio]

We didn't even need a fair whistle. If the refs called half of the instances where their bigs pushed our players under the rim when a shot went up to give them an advantage on the rebounds or called the BS that Cadeau pulled all game then we would have won.

Two Plays that still bother me:

Very early, Cadeau approached the baseline, wrapped both forearms around the ball (like a running back), took three steps across the lane, barely in bounds, takes another step around Demary and puts a shot up, gets an and one call instead of a blatant travel.

With only a few minutes left in the game (this had to have been something they planned in practice if they saw it in the game) as Demary is dribbling across the top of the key, Mullins moves from the lane to set a slip screen, then move opposite Demary (a play we've run countless times this season). Cadeau, instead of continuing a basketball play, runs through Mullins (like a fullback in short yardage) by putting his head in the middle of Mullins chest and driving through him. Foul called on Mullins (I believe we were about to make it a one possession game at the time).

I support any and all complaints about the officiating of that game. I just don’t post about it.

 

[HCCForever]

I believe Indy is contractually tied to the NCAA to get a Final Four once every 5 years or so since it is the home of NCAA HQ. Hosting again in 2029 is pretty quick. I think it was supposed to be 2030 originally, but Arlington needed a date swap for some reason in 2029. It's a travesty that Atlanta has to wait until 2031 to get their replacement for the 2020 cancelled Final Four because MB is another great centrally located, downtown stadium location.

I was wondering about Atlanta so thanks for the info. I have been to conventions there and it worked out great due to the available convention space which would also accommodate fanfest and other FF events. MARTA is also a convenient mode of transportation if you need to stay further away from Mercedes Benz. You also have the College Football Hall of Fame and Aquarium for other things to do besides eating and drinking when not watching the games.

 

[upstater]

We weren't built to beat 8 vs 5.

I'm hoping the Hurley we saw in the tourney is the one we see from here on out.

It's just a losing proposition to keep battling these dunderhead refs like Breeding. It doesn't help you at all.

 

[mpclinton22]

So…Indy seems like one of those places that’s “great to raise a family.” But for a place to visit for 4-5 days? It’s incredibly boring. I’ve been to 20 Final Fours and while it’s great to have everything centrally located, I’ve come to judge final fours based more on weather and things to do.

There’s NOTHING to do in Indy. Friendly people. Some good restaurants (including one that it best known for having a stupid about of horseradish in its cocktail sauce - not exactly a destination aspect).

Give me San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas and New Orleans ANY day of the week and I’d be happy.

This “spread the wealth” of Detroit, Minneapolis, and Indy (I know it’s the NCAA hq) stinks.

Minneapolis has a great restaurant/bar/brewery scene, super well-connected airport with direct flights basically everywhere in the US, and a very accessible stadium to all the hotels downtown. And US Bank is a gorgeous stadium.

But the FF being in April when there's as good a chance of nice weather as a blizzard really dulls the shine on a Minneapolis FF.

I believe Indy is contractually tied to the NCAA to get a Final Four once every 5 years or so since it is the home of NCAA HQ. Hosting again in 2029 is pretty quick. I think it was supposed to be 2030 originally, but Arlington needed a date swap for some reason in 2029. It's a travesty that Atlanta has to wait until 2031 to get their replacement for the 2020 cancelled Final Four because MB is another great centrally located, downtown stadium location.

I went to the National Championship game between ND and OSU in Atlanta a few years ago, and MB is an awesome stadium but there is NOTHING to do in that part of downtown Atlanta. And that day was about 15 degrees outside, so everyone tried to find bars to hang out in and there were so few that most of them ran out of booze. Atlanta is easy to get to, but aside from that doesn't have much appeal.

 

[JeannoCT]

We went to Atlanta for a women's final four. Can't remember what stadium it was in. Anyway, I liked Atlanta; went to a Braves game there and World of Coca-Cola! It doesn't have much appeal; probably wouldn't go back. I do enjoy going to different MLB stadiums.

 

[FlexOnEm]

So…Indy seems like one of those places that’s “great to raise a family.” But for a place to visit for 4-5 days? It’s incredibly boring. I’ve been to 20 Final Fours and while it’s great to have everything centrally located, I’ve come to judge final fours based more on weather and things to do.

There’s NOTHING to do in Indy. Friendly people. Some good restaurants (including one that it best known for having a stupid about of horseradish in its cocktail sauce - not exactly a destination aspect).

Give me San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas and New Orleans ANY day of the week and I’d be happy.

This “spread the wealth” of Detroit, Minneapolis, and Indy (I know it’s the NCAA hq) stinks.

I think it just comes down to individual preference on what makes a city good or bad for the Final 4. I thought Indy was great. Weather I don't particularly care about, but I live in south Florida so even if the weather stinks I go back to 80 degrees on Tuesday. Most of the things I like to do at the Final 4 revolve around basketball, so things to do outside of basketball I'm not overly concerned about. I enjoy chatting other fans, hanging out at the team hotel to meet coaches and players, fan fest, music festival, etc.

I've been to Houston twice, Dallas, Phoenix, and Indy. Indy was my favorite, and Phoenix was a close second. San Antonio is at the top of my list for future destinations.

 

[superjohn]

So…Indy seems like one of those places that’s “great to raise a family.” But for a place to visit for 4-5 days? It’s incredibly boring. I’ve been to 20 Final Fours and while it’s great to have everything centrally located, I’ve come to judge final fours based more on weather and things to do.

There’s NOTHING to do in Indy. Friendly people. Some good restaurants (including one that it best known for having a stupid about of horseradish in its cocktail sauce - not exactly a destination aspect).

Give me San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas and New Orleans ANY day of the week and I’d be happy.

This “spread the wealth” of Detroit, Minneapolis, and Indy (I know it’s the NCAA hq) stinks.

It's the final 4, what are you in the city to do other than immerse yourself in college basketball for four days? You have the final 4 games to watch, womens watch party at the team hotel, fan events at the convention center, other NCAA events, concerts, team send off before the games and team return at the team hotel. We had 25 or so former players filtering in and out of the hotel, walking around the city, and going to events. There are good restaurants and bars. I found that I didn't have enough time to go to some restaurants I heard good things about and didn't get a chance to go to the Speedway or Hinkle Fieldhouse.

 

[FlexOnEm]

It's the final 4, what are you in the city to do other than immerse yourself in college basketball for four days? You have the final 4 games to watch, womens watch party at the team hotel, fan events at the convention center, other NCAA events, concerts, team send off before the games and team return at the team hotel. We had 25 or so former players filtering in and out of the hotel, walking around the city, and going to events. There are good restaurants and bars. I found that I didn't have enough time to go to some restaurants I heard good things about and didn't get a chance to go to the Speedway or Hinkle Fieldhouse.

I could literally spend the entirety of the weekend in the stadium, at the team hotel, and local restaurants/bars! 😆

 

[Deepster]

I think it just comes down to individual preference on what makes a city good or bad for the Final 4. I thought Indy was great. Weather I don't particularly care about, but I live in south Florida so even if the weather stinks I go back to 80 degrees on Tuesday. Most of the things I like to do at the Final 4 revolve around basketball, so things to do outside of basketball I'm not overly concerned about. I enjoy chatting other fans, hanging out at the team hotel to meet coaches and players, fan fest, music festival, etc.

I've been to Houston twice, Dallas, Phoenix, and Indy. Indy was my favorite, and Phoenix was a close second. San Antonio is at the top of my list for future destinations.

Based on that, you'd like any city it's held in. It had nothing to do with Indy itself.

Honestly, I didn't think an off the cuff comment would generate 2+ days of discussion. The only common theme from the people who liked it seem to be everything was within walking distance and bars with UConn fans were fun to hang out in.

If we're talking about having fun at a final four? Like I said, it was fine. But if we're talking about great cities, it's just not one of them.

 

[superjohn]

Based on that, you'd like any city it's held in. It had nothing to do with Indy itself.

Honestly, I didn't think an off the cuff comment would generate 2+ days of discussion. The only common theme from the people who liked it seem to be everything was within walking distance and bars with UConn fans were fun to hang out in.

If we're talking about having fun at a final four? Like I said, it was fine. But if we're talking about great cities, it's just not one of them.

Nope, everyone I talked to liked it more than Houston and Phoenix.

Nobody is saying it's a great city, it's a great city host for a final 4.

 

[WestHartHusk]

Nope, everyone I talked to liked it more than Houston and Phoenix.

Nobody is saying it's a great city, it's a great city host for a final 4.

Got to say, I’m in the ‘retire Indy’ Final Four camp. For the amount of money being spent, it’d be nice to have a decent meal or water that didn’t taste off (is that just me?). We desperately need a dome that is east of Indy and north of Atlanta.

 

[FlexOnEm]

Based on that, you'd like any city it's held in. It had nothing to do with Indy itself.

Honestly, I didn't think an off the cuff comment would generate 2+ days of discussion. The only common theme from the people who liked it seem to be everything was within walking distance and bars with UConn fans were fun to hang out in.

If we're talking about having fun at a final four? Like I said, it was fine. But if we're talking about great cities, it's just not one of them.

Not at all. Houston in particular is very run down and there were multiple shootings on the same street of the hotel we were staying on. It was 30 minutes from downtown to the stadium parking lot and then another 20 minute walk from the parking lot into the stadium. Then of course after the games, 20 minutes back to the parking lot, 30 minutes to the hotel, etc.

Indy felt safe, it was clean, and everything you could’ve wanted was within walking distance. I went to dinner, caught the team send off, and went to the stadium all within 3-4 blocks. No need to factor in driving times or parking.

Also, isn’t the whole point of creating a thread to have discussion?

 

[Deepster]

Not at all. Houston in particular is very run down and there were multiple shootings on the same street of the hotel we were staying on. It was 30 minutes from downtown to the stadium parking lot and then another 20 minute walk from the parking lot into the stadium. Then of course after the games, 20 minutes back to the parking lot, 30 minutes to the hotel, etc.

Indy felt safe, it was clean, and everything you could’ve wanted was within walking distance. I went to dinner, caught the team send off, and went to the stadium all within 3-4 blocks. No need to factor in driving times or parking.

Also, isn’t the whole point of creating a thread to have discussion?

Yeah, again. Everything was walking distance. For the 50th time.

Sure. I guess if that's the part that gets under everyone's skin, have at it. Outside of attending a Final Four there, I can name 75 cities off the top of my head I'd rather go to though so let's tap the brakes and not make it into a destination vacation spot.

 

[Fishy]

Based on that, you'd like any city it's held in. It had nothing to do with Indy itself.

Honestly, I didn't think an off the cuff comment would generate 2+ days of discussion. The only common theme from the people who liked it seem to be everything was within walking distance and bars with UConn fans were fun to hang out in.

If we're talking about having fun at a final four? Like I said, it was fine. But if we're talking about great cities, it's just not one of them.

That's it.

It's great for a basketball tournament.

Houston, on the other hand, is freaking terrible for a basketball tournament because the city is the size of Australia.

Houston is also terrible for like 2,000 other reasons, but you get the point.

 

[superjohn]

Got to say, I’m in the ‘retire Indy’ Final Four camp. For the amount of money being spent, it’d be nice to have a decent meal or water that didn’t taste off (is that just me?). We desperately need a dome that is east of Indy and north of Atlanta.

Bad water? Where did you eat and drink? It isn't Haiti, it's a large American city. You couldn't find a decent place to have a meal? They have good local restaurants and local high end steakhouses. If you didn't want to venture out they had a McCormick and Schmick's attached to the UConn hotel and the other chains Capital Grille, Ruth's Chris, Sullivan's, Fogo de Chao etc.

I want some dome NFL stadiums in the northeast so we aren't always at a major disadvantage in terms of fans.