I woke up Sunday, March 11th and got dressed for the NCAA tournament Selection Show. I didn’t know what to expect at all and frankly I was still exhausted from St. Louis, Florida, and my 21st birthday. When I got to the arena, there was a dedicated spot for media and a stage where the players would be sitting. I loved seeing the players all walk in to the arena one-by-one carrying the Arch Madness trophies and receiving the praise and celebration that they had been deserving for several seasons.
The players took their seats on the stage and I took my seat in the press section. We were all watching the show on one of the big screens and in a matter of minutes the bracket was unveiled and it was announced that Loyola would be an 11-seed taking on the University of Miami, a 6-seed and they would be playing in Dallas.
It’s funny looking back at this photo because Henry and I already look exhausted and we had only just arrived in Dallas. I don’t think either of us could fathom the long days and lack of sleep that was coming for us over the next three weeks.
As soon as we learned that the game was taking place in Dallas, Henry (my co-EP of Rambler Sports Locker) and I got on the phone and tried to get in touch with our advisors about covering the game. I started looking up flights while we waited to hear back. We went to the press conference afterward and got interviews with Head Coach Porter Moser, Athletic Director Steve Watson, and several of the players.
I wasn’t sure yet if we would be traveling, but I put in requests for credentials anyway and kept contacting our advisors. One characteristic that I am grateful to have is that I don’t settle and I always keep fighting. While some students might have stopped trying after one email or one phone call or just been satisfied with watching the tournament from home, I knew I needed to fight for my show to get the chance to cover it.
All of that fighting paid off the following morning when I got the email that four of us would be flying to Dallas and covering the first round of the tournament. Flights had been booked, hotel room reservations were made and we were leaving in three days. I had to let my professors know that I would be missing class and this was just after missing two days to cover Arch Madness.
I am very thankful for my professors and their understanding and encouragement to go and chase my dreams. However, that didn't mean that it was easy missing a lot of classes, especially since I was taking 18 credits at the time.
I chose the two other members who would be going, met together to make our game plan, and before I knew it we were flying to Dallas. We got to the airport extremely early and made it to Dallas safely. We went to the hotel and changed into our professional attire and were in the shuttle to the arena.
It was cool to get to take the media shuttle to and from the venue as it gave us the opportunity as college students to meet professionals in the field who have made a career for themselves. During our first ride in the van, I met David Haugh who is a Chicago Tribune writer and he offered us some great advice.
We made it to American Airlines Center, got credentialed, and made it through security. We made our plan for the day and tried to be as informed as possible about all the rules of covering March Madness. One rule that we had to quickly adapt to was the fact we were not allowed to film any footage of the games themselves. This meant we wouldn't have any highlights or B-roll for our show.
This was my view from press row. I still get goosebumps with how fortunate I was to cover these games and how incredibly close I was to all the action.
I walked onto the court and found my press row seat and I honestly just could not believe it. I couldn’t believe that as a college junior I was covering my team play in the NCAA tournament. The game was honestly a blur to me. Being media on press row, means that you do not cheer for any team or show any emotion. I wasn’t there as a fan, so realistically anyone watching me shouldn't know what school I attend. That is such a hard task when you know these players well and you want them to get to continue their journey in the tournament!
As the clock winded down and the scoreboard showed my team losing, I started bracing myself for the reality of what would most likely be the conclusion of this game. I had to remind myself how many goals they had surpassed and how much success they had already had this season and, heck— even if this ended, I still had gotten to travel and cover the first round of this tournament.
With 0.6 seconds left in the game, senior Donte Ingram hit a long three-point shot that made it in. I swear that shot dropped in slow motion for me and when it went through the hoop I was in awe. Loyola had pulled off the upset and won the game with a final score of 64-62… and I might have shown a little happiness on my face.
This photo was taken after our dinner with Mike Griffin (left.) I think my favorite piece of advice that he gave us was that you don’t have to sabotage others to make it in journalism. You can be nice and still be successful.
We immediately made our way to the press conference and the locker room to get quotes and footage for our recap show and then started making packages and content to go with our analyses of what had happened that afternoon on the court.
That game was just one of the amazing things that happened during my trip to Dallas. We went to media day and made more content for our show and got to know the next team we would be playing—Tennessee. We talked to Shannon Ryan who writes for the Tribune as well. We also got to know Mike Griffin who, at the time, was an SEC writer and exchanged information on our teams. We went to dinner with Griffin and he gave us such incredible advice for our future careers. Sister Jean started to blow up and everyone was asking us questions about her oh and also… Loyola beat Tennessee!
That’s right. Loyola had pulled off another very close upset. This time they won by just one point, the final score being 63-62. My small, MVC school was going to the Sweet Sixteen in Atlanta. It was so exciting to see the success and the amount of people who were becoming fans of the Ramblers.
I had to grab a photo on the court before we left Dallas. I am so grateful that I got to cover these games as media while being a college student.
We finished all of our coverage and boarded our plane home to Chicago. We were exhausted from working 18-20 hour days and were so behind in classes, but we couldn't stop smiling. Loyola had just beaten two hard teams and we had covered it all. And to make things even better, we took our seats on the plane and discovered that Nevada had barely beaten the University of Cincinnati, which meant we would be playing Nevada a seven-seed, instead of a two-seed in Atlanta.
The stars were aligning for Loyola’s basketball team and I wondered to myself if they would keep aligning for me. Would I get to continue on this journey and travel to Atlanta to cover the Sweet Sixteen or was this the end of the road for me? I wasn’t sure, but I was hopeful. The answer to my question would come in the next couple of days and will certainly make for another blog…