Game #108 of 363 30% complete
This is the first game of a doubleheader today followed later at Virgina Commonwealth. I am greeted by a free non-garage parking lot next to the arena – my number one choice of parking scenarios.
As I stepped into the arena, there were plenty of open seats for choosing. I sat next to the pep band accompanied by dancing cheerleaders. I was in awe of the music and dancing by the Hampton students. It would be worth the price of admission just watching and listening to them.
Being from Connecticut, I remember Ricky Mahorn who played in the Hartford school system and later became a star for Hampton and the Detroit Pistons.
There could have been no more than 500 fans in the arena although the paid attendance figure was 2103. I am always on the lookout for unique situations in my travels. When a Hampton player is ready to shoot a foul shot, the PA announcer would say “Free throws win ball games”. The crowd would clap and wait the result. It had to be a recording because it sounded the same each about 100 times.
Bowling Green went on a 18-4 run at the beginning of the game. Although Hampton brought it down to single digits in the second half, it was never close.
In front of me, there sat a family with a man in the wheelchair. Incredibly, there was a stand in front of them surely blocking the view of the man and the kids. I wanted to say something, but I said that there has to be a reason for this. No one in the family seemed to complain.
I was impressed by Wilie Lightfoot a freshman guard for Bowling Green. He did make one stupid mistake by silencing the crowd with his hands after hitting a three pointer. The Hampton crowd full of spirit never let up on this poor guy the rest of the way.
I had miscalculated the distance between games. It was an hour and 20 minutes to VCU but the Hampton game ended at 6PM. The VCU game started at 7PM. Not finding my car in the parking lot at the end of the game added another 10 minutes. I sped toward the VCU arena but missed the beginning of the game as you shall see in the next blog post.
Here are pictures on my walk along the Virginia Beach boardwalk adorned with XMAS lights.
journey to 351 