We here at Vatican Smoke are not going to get into the decisions that were or were not made by the Memphis Tigers, or any plays that were or were not made, at the end of the championship game against Kansas Monday night. Instead we are going to celebrate the amazing experience of the Final Four that capped it off.
I was one of the lucky few that got to attend the Final Four in San Antonio, described by one lovely lady as, "A bowl game with four teams, on steroids" (Editors Note: The bowl game was on steroids, not the players). A bowl game is the only close comparison to the Final Four experience. The teams that win the semi-final games on Saturday are treated to a second game and a few more days, unlike any bowl game. The Tigers fans were out in force and made a solid showing, outnumbering the UCLA and likely the North Carolina fans for the weekend. San Antonio with the riverwalk might be the perfect venue for any large sports event!
Walking around the team hotels and Riverwalk area, you can feel the energy of each team, as well as see a huge number of notable fans. The sheer number of sports figures, media figures, and other stars is so large, that I kept running into notable people and decided to keep a list. Here is the list that I kept, of all the notable persons that the Pope came within 20 feet of at some point during the weekend (yes, 20 feet). This list includes sports figures, some media figures, and some Memphis-specific figures, with some notes/and or stories, videos, about them:
The Coaches:
Lute Olsen
Jeff Capel
Roy Williams
Gene Keady
John Calipari
Tom Crean
Milt Wagner
Shaun Miller
Digger Phelps
The Players:
Penny Hardaway
Hasheem Thabeet
Dajuan Wagner
Chris Douglas-Roberts
The Media:
Bonnie Bernstein
Digger Phelps
Boat Woloshin
Other Sports Figures:
Barry Alvarez
Other notables:
Harold Ford Jr
Its All Good Auto Sales Guy
Tom Crean's wife
Elvis
Seeing the Tigers beat UCLA was definitely special. Here is a video clip from the Pope's seat in the stands when they announced the Tigers starting lineups:
The Pope had the good fortune of hanging out with Richard "Digger" Phelps over the course of the weekend. You might know him better as the Anti-Drug Lord of the George H Bush Administration, or possibly an emerging broadway actor, but I know him as "Digger". The quote of the weekend was definitely from Richard. When asked by the Pope about how it felt to be on the box cover of Wheaties a few years back (no pictures available!), he responded very even keeled, "Cheesits", noting the Pope's misremembering of the orange/red box cover that he was on. Good times.
A renaissance man of sorts, Digger's talents are well documented. Add "dancer" to the list please:
Check out the pictures of the Pope's weekend by clicking here
