SECOND IN A SERIES
DESIGNATED NOTE: This week, we will bring you remembrances of the four Final Fours we covered during the 1980s, back when authority figures allowed us to do such things. Today: The 1986 Final Four in Reunion Area in Dallas.
My second Final Four was pretty much of an accident. I had no business being there and neither did LSU. But thanks to the longest layover in aviation history, there I was at mid-court, third row, to witness LSU vs. Louisville and Duke vs. Kansas.
(PERSONAL NOTE — If you look at the picture on the front of the website — not the one above — you can see my back at dead middle mid-court in the third row in the light-brown shirt!)
I have two very specific memories that I’ll get to in a second – and neither one of them has to do with what happened on the court.
But first, the story on how I got there. You’d think that a Shreveport paper covering an event in Dallas wouldn’t be a big deal, but in order for me to do it, I had to go by way of Scottsdale, Ariz.
Fair Grounds Field was about to open in April, 1986, and a new era of Shreveport minor league baseball was upon us. To help get ready for that, the Journal sent me to Arizona to cover the San Francisco Giants’ minor league spring training. But before I left, I was told that on the off chance that 11th-seeded LSU beat No. 1-seed Kentucky, I would stop off in Dallas on the way home and stay for four days.
To be honest, I wasn’t that fired up about it. I had a three-week old baby at home and after being gone for a week, I knew I’d be anxious to get home and get ready for the Captains’ season. But I can still see Ricky Blanton waving his arms running down the floor after LSU clinched the win over Kentucky and I knew that meant I’d be posted up at the Hyatt Regency for four days ($85/night!!!).
Once I got there, I realize that it wasn’t like I was covering a middle school volleyball tournament. And with that sweet spot on press row, I could suck it up for a few days and be OK with it.
Louisville, led by freshman Pervis Ellison, beat LSU 88-77 and in a battle of #1 seeds Duke beat Kansas 71-67. That leads to the first thing I remember the most – the mood in the LSU locker room.
For the entire month of March, I had been around more than my share of rabid LSU fans. These people couldn’t believe their good fortune and were rightfully excited about their team’s run through the tournament. When it was over, I saw the crushed faces of many of them, especially since LSU led by eight (44-36) at halftime. None of those faces, however, were in the LSU locker room.
Granted, I wasn’t in there two minutes after a buzzer-beating loss, but I was stunned as to how matter of fact the players took the loss. No hanging heads or red eyes. Yeah, it was a great run … Wish we had won … we gave it all we had … etc. Then they grabbed their stuff and got on the bus.
Since then, I have learned how common this actually is. My problem is that I mistakenly thought the LSU players are caught up in the emotion like the rest of us. Instead, their insulation from all of that is what allows them to do what they need to do. Play your hardest, play your best and leave it all out there. If some sophomore is so broken up that he can’t go to Poly Sci class for a week, that’s his problem.
I learned that day the proportion of emotionally crushed fans is far higher than it is for emotionally crushed players.
My second memory came in another room of Reunion Arena. Duke led for much of the game, but a late Louisville rally gave the Cardinals the national championship. After all of the press conferences were done, I found Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski in a room talking to the media. After about 10 minutes, it was just Krzyzewski, me and a couple of other print reporters, basically just shooting the breeze. He had a soft drink can in his hands and we talked about the season and the Final Four and whatever else came up.
I remember thinking – and later writing – that it’s too bad it didn’t turn out better for Duke because this was basically their one shot at it. Their coach seemed like a really nice guy. They had four starters graduating and this was the year they had been building for since Krzyzewski took over in 1980. Looked like they were headed back to being just another ACC team.
How did that turn out?
TOMORROW: Teddy Allen covers the 1988 Final Four in Kansas City
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (WHERE WERE YOU?!?!)
1982 Final Four (New Orleans)