If someone suggested a 1415.84 roundtrip ride, would you say yes? Normally, I would say no, but it’s usually not the norm for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Taking this special achievement into account, I disregarded a lot of things I would normally do.
I had no problem getting into to a car with other BV editors for the long trip to Nashville knowing that I had the opportunity to see something that may not happen for some time.
More importantly, I let superstitions about my sports teams go. For the entire season, I had not traveled to see the Bonnies play, not even for their Atlantic 10 Championship win in Atlantic City. One of my sports superstitions is watching a game in the same place. Since I hadn’t seen the team play on the road all year, I watched most of the games in the Reilly Center or from my room on campus. As tough as it was to part with this common superstition, I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the Bonnies go dancing.
With that, I stepped into a car with fellow editors Tyler Diedrich, Kyle Zamiara, Skye Tulio and Mary Best and prepared for the long trip that I had no doubt would be fun whether the Bonnies won or lost.
It’s cliché, but after the trip I can say the ride is half the fun.
No matter if it was the iPod selection of songs that might not be today’s greatest hits or an obsession with eating Laffy Taffy or a plethora of games played of the Price is Right on an iPod, the ride was as enjoyable as anyone could ask for. As we passed state through state, the anticipation for the game grew along with the realization that we were all experiencing something that doesn’t happen every day.
While I went to Nashville to see the Bonnies try to pull the upset, in turn I got to know the editors that I work with better in a setting that was different than the productive/not so productive newsroom we work in every week.
The trip also showed me, even as a senior, you have to value the time you have in college and live your college experience to the fullest. Days prior to the game, I went back and forth debating if I wanted to go to Nashville. Now after going and sharing the experiences with my fellow editors, I can say honestly it was one of the best impulsive decisions I’ve ever made.
I enjoyed the trip even though the Bonnies didn’t win, and I went on another long road trip to Raleigh, N.C. to see the women’s team play in the Sweet Sixteen. These experiences are like no other, and if you have a chance to go you should because you will enjoy every second of it.
I mean it’s not like it happens every year, but hopefully we won’t have to wait another 12 years to make plans for a road trip to see our beloved Bonnies.
-Chris Graham, ’12
March certainly is a mad time to be a student journalist at St. Bonaventure. As a features editor, I get to write cute stories about the traveling WolfPack and student reactions to the basketball teams’ success. Those are some of my favorite stories to write. The school pride is absolutely incredible. I feel like the past few weeks have been nonstop excitement, but what I really dream about is covering all the action from center court.
If only for the month of March, I wish I could trade places with a sports editor. Sit on press row, looking all official, and be a part of one of the biggest displays of college athletics. It truly is any sport nut’s dream.
Despite my crazy notions of suddenly jumping into sports journalism, it’s still a great time to be a feats writer. Like I said, the atmosphere on campus has been pretty much electric. There’s no end to the amount of stories or angles a journalist could take. I, for one, will never tire of writing about how much students love the Bonnies.
It seems everyone on campus has caught Bonnie fever. I have never seen so many students wearing Bonaventure-related shirts in my life. Being a Bonnie was certainly made sweeter last Tuesday when the women defeated Marist (my older sister’s alma mater) to move on to the round of 16.
For years, Marist had been my family’s favorite women’s team. It was kind of surreal seeing who I cheered for in high school play Bonaventure, but I never thought twice about rooting against the Red Foxes. As shown by all the students these past weeks, Bonaventure runs deep. Out of my divided household, my dad (a Bona alum) and I clearly picked the better team.
Maybe in my future BV years I’ll be able to weasel my way into the sports section and witness a win like the one against Marist in person. I mean, I can still dream, right?
-Kerri Linsenbigler, ’14
I remember making a crazy overnight-round trip to Milwaukee to see the Bonnies play Marquette in the NIT. Crazy amount of driving. Would have gone to Nashville/Raleigh in a heartbeat.