At Welsh-Ryan last Sunday, Sacramento was the one site I was rooting against. Too far, too expensive. But my daughter (NU ‘21) begged me to take her. She had a great experience at Northwestern, but her last 4 quarters were basically a washout due to the pandemic, so for her sake I bit the bullet and booked the flights and reserved a hotel. You only get so many chances to make memories with your children.
The pregame alumni party at Punch Bowl on Thursday was a blast. Charlie Hall as MC, Fitz and the band riling up the crowd, nearly 1,000 purple-clad fans in attendance. Then a few steps over to the G1 Center. We sat in the third row behind the band. A rock-fight against Boise State, pure elation as the Cats held off the Broncos’ second half rally and advanced. We high-fived the players in the tunnel as they came off the court.
We scrambled to extend our hotel (recently abandoned by the Arizona contingent), find flights leaving Sunday instead of Friday, and snag tickets in a red-hot market for the second round game. With a day to kill, we rented a car and drove up to wine country in Amador County, visiting three family-owned wineries.
The buzz grew all day Saturday. We wandered around Old Sacramento, taking in the St. Pat’s parade and running into Robbie, Boo and Roy getting a little fresh air before game time. Another lively pregame party at Punch Bowl, then over to G1 to watch the end of Princeton’s huge upset. We camped out near the Mizzou section, waited for their dejected fans to exit, then snuck into the 4th row behind the NU bench. There we watched a battle for the ages, the Cats storming back to tie it with 12 minutes left. The TV cameras caught me and my daughter going absolutely crazy, and our phones blew up with texts from friends across the country. The boys hung tough all the way, until Chase’s three bounced in and out, and Brooks’ put-back caromed away, and Boo’s layup inexplicably rolled off. Finally, it was over.
We saluted these fearless warriors as they left the court, tears in their eyes, but their legacy unsurpassed. An incredible weekend to cap off an incredible season. Thank you, boys, for joyful memories that will last a lifetime.
