#25 of 35                       

My wife Linda was supposed to accompany me for an overnight to Burlington but she fell sick the last minute. My friend Kevin stepped in as the substitute. All I can say is that the weekend changed from a trip to the mall and Ben & Jerry’s factory site to a night drinking beer watching football and my beloved UCONN.  Linda will be making another attempt in Maine later this month.

When I first walked into the gym, I was shocked at the number of folks in the stands. Up to now, my experience with small gyms has been a vista of sparsely scattered fans in the stands. The large crowd made for comfy seating as Kevin and I stepped over people to get to our seats. However the lack of cheerleaders and a pep band did result in a quieter crowd.

As I drove up to Vermont on I-89, I wondered what people do up here for fun. Most of the scenery were trees and farm. You very rarely saw a house. Perhaps UVA basketball provides that fun and thereby results in a bountiful fan showing.

I was very impressed with Albany. They are fundamentally sound and have some big horses underneath to cause any team fits. I am looking forward to seeing them in the big dance. Two of the Albany players were from Australia which seems to have more players than ever playing in the NCAA. One benefit of this journey is that it will be fun watching the league tournaments with now having some knowledge of the teams playing.

Seeing Vermont play brought back memories back to 2005 when they defeated Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA dance. I remember the big man Taylor Coppernath becoming the darling of the tournament.

Stadium Journey: http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/roy-l-patrick-gymnasium-s709