To my friends in the Nutmeg State

[cockhrnleghrn]

A) Thanks for putting up with all the visitors to your site;
B) It has the best moderation in the business;
C) When your men's and women's teams both went to the Final Four the same year, did any of you fly back and forth between sites to see both teams? If so, am I out of my mind to consider it? (If our women beat FSU, of course).

 

[rvwsleep]

Should you fly back and forth to watch both games ?
How often do you think you will get the chance to do that ?
Nothing sadder than an opportunity missed.

 

[ASweet3781]

Do it! I flew to San Antonio for our men in 2004 and than we rented a car and drove to New Orleans for the women.

Not sure how far Dallas to Phoenix is but we loved every second of it. I mean how often does this happen for your teams? It may never happen again!

 

[Mulligan]

With Dallas an AA hub you should get great flight choices . Do it! Enjoy!

 

[UConnNick]

There have been some UCONN fans that have done that. We did it in 2009 when the men were in Detroit and the women were in St. Louis, but we were going to drive back and forth, not fly. At that time the men were Sat./Mon. and the women were Sun./Tues. Our men's team lost in the semis to Mich. St. on Sat., so we didn't end up having to drive back to Detroit for the NC game. We stayed in St. Louis to see the women win NC No. 6. Usually the distances involved will require flying, but Detroit and St. Louis are an easy several hour drive apart.

 

[nimzovich]

I did the flights between San Antonio and New Orleans in 2004. Was definitely worth it. Great memories.

 

[Kaizen]

You don't need to fly back and forth now.
There you have a great tool : internet

 

[GoUconn7961]

Do it! It doesn't happen that often. We were extremely fortunate as fans that it's happened twice!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

cockhorn Congrats on having this dilemma. The men have been in the desert for a while; now they have advanced with real basketball on both ends of the court. Hope your men can take it frankly. Your women, whole different story.

 

[UConnNick]

Do it! It doesn't happen that often. We were extremely fortunate as fans that it's happened twice!

Actually, it has happened four times for UCONN...2004, 2009, 2011 and 2014.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Actually, it has happened four times for UCONN...2004, 2009, 2011 and 2014.

Oh lol you're right! My mind is going!! Oops!!

 

[MilliniumPrince]

A) Thanks for putting up with all the visitors to your site;
B) It has the best moderation in the business;
C) When your men's and women's teams both went to the Final Four the same year, did any of you fly back and forth between sites to see both teams? If so, am I out of my mind to consider it? (If our women beat FSU, of course).

If you can do it and avoid total financial ruin or loss of a spouse....what else is there to consider. Opportunities to complete the "Uconn Double" don't grow on trees.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

cockhorn Congrats on having this dilemma. The men have been in the desert for a while; now they have advanced with real basketball on both ends of the court. Hope your men can take it frankly. Your women, whole different story.

Thanks; we've had a great season. I said earlier in the year we were a top ten tea, but then we went through a slump. I'm glad we got out of it. Thanks, everyone, for your encouragement.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

If you can do it and avoid total financial ruin or loss of a spouse....what else is there to consider. Opportunities to complete the "Uconn Double" don't grow on trees.

No spouse to worry about and well, it's a lot of money, but you only live once. Actually, Final Four tickets aren't much more expensive than East Regional Tickets.

 

[AndyCT]

I'm trying to not be arrogant when I say this - for UConn fans it's a rare opportunity, for everyone else it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you can make it work, you should do it.

With Dallas an AA hub you should get great flight choices . Do it! Enjoy!

Actually, both Dallas and Phoenix are AA hubs....about a dozen flights a day. It won't necessarily be cheap since as far as I know there's no real competition on that route, but if you start looking now on Travelocity, Orbitz, etc (and AA>com) you may be able to find something. Here's the listing for tomorrow - it will give you an idea of the flight times which ought to help you plan. The times change a little on the weekends.

The formatting/spacing seems to get lost - sorry, so it's flight number, departure time, departure gate, and arrival time (local, but using 24 hour clock) and Airbus (320) or the once-a-day Boeing (737).

DALLAS TO PHOENIX AS OF 26MAR/1854

NONSTOPS
DEPARTS ARRIVES
FLT TIME GATE TIME GATE VF EQUIP DHD OPEX W PAX

655 0600 C24 0637 320 77 102
761 0710 C30 0750 320 77 146
448 0855 C31 0951 320 77 179
542 1045 C31 1127 320 77 176
549 1215 C29 1254 320 77 X 153
2341 1305 A33 1346 737 B9 134
686 1515 C39 1553 320 77 X X 156
1896 1740 C29 1819 320 77 X 175
550 1846 C33 1931 320 77 X 161
513 2030 C29 2109 320 77
889 2225 C8 2305 320 77
END OF LISTING
​

PHOENIX TO DALLAS AS OF 26MAR/1856

NONSTOPS
DEPARTS ARRIVES
FLT TIME GATE TIME GATE VF EQUIP DHD OPEX W PAX

542 0520 A3 0939 C31 320 77 X 182
549 0645 PAD 1106 C29 320 77 X 173
1196 0730 1154 A33 737 B9 X 150
649 0900 1330 C24 320 77 X 165
560 1047 1515 C33 320 77 X 183
544 1223 1644 C29 320 77 X 167
550 1326 1745 C33 320 77 X 170
551 1510 1932 C39 320 77 X 163
711 1645 2103 C39 320 77 X 151
545 1859 2319 C36 320 77
809 2147 0159 C39 320 77
END OF LISTING ​

Anyway, if you do decide to go to both tournaments, at least with the direct flights you wont look like poor Jon Samuelson...

As an aside, 448 from Dallas to Phoenix was the first flight I ever did after I was hired, so it's a little special for me. But as it is I will probably be stuck up here in the Land of Steady Habits for the Final Four.

And, while I cant speak for the board as a whole, I feel that one of the things that makes this board special is the participation of our foreign visitors. Even if it gets heated once in a while... so thanks for being here, and good luck!

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

It's doable; thank goodness they're both large cities.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

No spouse to worry about and well, it's a lot of money, but you only live once. Actually, Final Four tickets aren't much more expensive than East Regional Tickets.

I was thinking travel and hotels, but if you can....

 

[j66kicker]

I'm trying to not be arrogant when I say this - for UConn fans it's a rare opportunity, for everyone else it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you can make it work, you should do it.



Actually, both Dallas and Phoenix are AA hubs....about a dozen flights a day. It won't necessarily be cheap since as far as I know there's no real competition on that route, but if you start looking now on Travelocity, Orbitz, etc (and AA>com) you may be able to find something. Here's the listing for tomorrow - it will give you an idea of the flight times which ought to help you plan. The times change a little on the weekends.

The formatting/spacing seems to get lost - sorry, so it's flight number, departure time, departure gate, and arrival time (local, but using 24 hour clock) and Airbus (320) or the once-a-day Boeing (737).

DALLAS TO PHOENIX AS OF 26MAR/1854

NONSTOPS
DEPARTS ARRIVES
FLT TIME GATE TIME GATE VF EQUIP DHD OPEX W PAX

655 0600 C24 0637 320 77 102
761 0710 C30 0750 320 77 146
448 0855 C31 0951 320 77 179
542 1045 C31 1127 320 77 176
549 1215 C29 1254 320 77 X 153
2341 1305 A33 1346 737 B9 134
686 1515 C39 1553 320 77 X X 156
1896 1740 C29 1819 320 77 X 175
550 1846 C33 1931 320 77 X 161
513 2030 C29 2109 320 77
889 2225 C8 2305 320 77
END OF LISTING
​

PHOENIX TO DALLAS AS OF 26MAR/1856

NONSTOPS
DEPARTS ARRIVES
FLT TIME GATE TIME GATE VF EQUIP DHD OPEX W PAX

542 0520 A3 0939 C31 320 77 X 182
549 0645 PAD 1106 C29 320 77 X 173
1196 0730 1154 A33 737 B9 X 150
649 0900 1330 C24 320 77 X 165
560 1047 1515 C33 320 77 X 183
544 1223 1644 C29 320 77 X 167
550 1326 1745 C33 320 77 X 170
551 1510 1932 C39 320 77 X 163
711 1645 2103 C39 320 77 X 151
545 1859 2319 C36 320 77
809 2147 0159 C39 320 77
END OF LISTING ​

Anyway, if you do decide to go to both tournaments, at least with the direct flights you wont look like poor Jon Samuelson...

As an aside, 448 from Dallas to Phoenix was the first flight I ever did after I was hired, so it's a little special for me. But as it is I will probably be stuck up here in the Land of Steady Habits for the Final Four.

And, while I cant speak for the board as a whole, I feel that one of the things that makes this board special is the participation of our foreign visitors. Even if it gets heated once in a while... so thanks for being here, and good luck!

Don't forget to check Southwest - they don't list on Expedia, etc. SW flies direct between PHX and Love Field. Flight time is 1:35 (keep in mind when looking at departure/arrive times that Phoenix is not on daylight savings time, so right now MST is same as PDT). Wanna Get Away fares are $126 to $286 (one way) for those dates, but some are 1-stop flights. Direct flights are mostly already over $400 (one way).

 

[AndyCT]

Don't forget to check Southwest - they don't list on Expedia, etc. SW flies direct between PHX and Love Field. Flight time is 1:35 (keep in mind when looking at departure/arrive times that Phoenix is not on daylight savings time, so right now MST is same as PDT). Wanna Get Away fares are $126 to $286 (one way) for those dates, but some are 1-stop flights. Direct flights are mostly already over $400 (one way).

Sorry, Homer Simpson moment...forgot completely about those guys and I have friends that work there. As a bonus LUV (actually, DAL) is much closer so if that works it's probably better. Dallas and Phoenix are hubs for both airlines.

I tend to be a little DFW- centric. (btw DFW stands for Doesn't F*ing Work)

 

[winitall]

In 2004 we had tickets for both the men's and women's FF. Sold the men's semifinal tickets. Went to the women's semifinal then drove from New Orleans to San Antonio for the men's final then back to New Orleans for the women final. I'll never forget how great that was!!!

 

[AndyCT]

Totally brain cramping tonight...there was a pretty good basketball game on...

A few other things, Frontier has been mirroring American on a lot of routes, they do fly between Dallas and Phoenix but I think they only go in the evening which won't do you any good. You'll have something else to do in the evenings...also check Spirit and Allegiant, both low cost carriers, but less likely to be on this route.

Since Southwest competes head-to-head, the American prices might not be as bad as I thought.

And finally, I would assume you would fly into Dallas and home from Phoenix; that leaves three flights in between. Round trips are usually cheaper than two single legs, so you may want to look at both a round trip from Dallas to Phoenix and back, plus a single leg to Phoenix; and a single leg to Phoenix, with a round trip from Phoenix to Dallas and back.

And just to confuse things even more, a round trip from South Carolina to Dallas and back, and two round trips between Dallas and Phoenix in some combination and even on two different airlines might be cheaper that single legs to Dallas and back from Phoenix

It's way more complicated than I can handle so good luck with it. And good luck tomorrow - the life expectancy of some #1 seeds has been a little shaky this week...

 

[MilfordHusky]

In 2003, I had men's Final Four tickets, though UConn wasn't there. (It was the year that Carmelo and Cuse beat Kansas). I went to the semi-finals in New Orleans, then the women's semis in Atlanta, followed by a Masters practice round, and finally the women's finals.

That year, Texas was in both the men's and women's Final Four and lost in both semi-final games. I met a Longhorn student who planned to go to all 4 games by car. I have no idea if he went to the finals for either gender after the Longhorns lost.

 

[Stinger92860]

A) Thanks for putting up with all the visitors to your site;
B) It has the best moderation in the business;
C) When your men's and women's teams both went to the Final Four the same year, did any of you fly back and forth between sites to see both teams? If so, am I out of my mind to consider it? (If our women beat FSU, of course).

In a very nice way, don't book a flight to Dallas. Safe travels.

 

[Ron and Vida]

A) Thanks for putting up with all the visitors to your site;
B) It has the best moderation in the business;
C) When your men's and women's teams both went to the Final Four the same year, did any of you fly back and forth between sites to see both teams? If so, am I out of my mind to consider it? (If our women beat FSU, of course).

Thanks for the post. Can't tell you how much I have enjoyed all the positive responses. Good luck(but not too much good luck!)

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

In a very nice way, don't book a flight to Dallas. Safe travels.

FSU fan?