Calm Before Basketball Storm
Ninety minutes before the tip-off of the first game in the Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship, Boardwalk Hall is nearly a ghost town except for a few players out on the court going through drills. The stands are mostly empty, and in the nearly empty press room, the Boardwalk Hall waiter staff is setting up for the first media meal, which like high school third period, is scheduled to begin at 10:30am.
The quiet won’t last too much longer. The first game of the A-10 Tourney is at noon today and features an intense rivalry between two Ohio-based schools, Dayton and Xavier, from Cincinnati. Soon the bands will be playing, the cheerleaders will be doing their thing as the mascots run around the court and at least one college student fan will be sporting full body paint matching his team’s colors.
The first round games are being broadcast on Comcast Sports Net so you can enjoy the game at home but if you can make it to the Hall you can enjoy the ambience that makes college basketball’s March Madness one of the greatest sporting events on the planet.
Check back on the Atlantic City Weekly Web site for my reports on the tournament.
Tags: A-10 Men's Basketball
