Our flight back from Dallas landed safely at O'hare International Airport late into the evening and I wouldn't make it back to my apartment until the early hours of Monday morning. Now, when I think back to my 2018 March it really is so many amazing and great memories, but it also reminds me of the sheer and utter exhaustion that I was experiencing. I am by NO means complaining, but it was a hard task to be full-time journalists and full-time students during the tournament.
My press row seat for the Sweet Sixteen game. I was usually assigned a spot on the opposite side of the player’s bench, so being behind Porter Moser and the team was something new and exciting.
I didn’t get to spend the rest of my Monday catching up on all the sleep I had missed during the first weekend of March Madness, I had to instead wake up and make it to my 8:30 am science class—a class that I had already missed several days of due to St. Louis and Dallas. I struggled to stay on top of my assignments, be in attendance at classes, convincing the School of Communication (SOC) to send us to the next round, preparing for the trips, going to the games, managing students, and producing content for several forms of media. It was a lot. There is no way to sugarcoat that. There were days I was running on zero hours of sleep and days where it felt like I had slept in because I had gotten three.
I’m getting ahead of myself… I went to my classes on Monday and also went to a meeting with RSL’s advisor where I had to plead my case as to why RSL should get the opportunity to continue covering the tournament. I think one misconception surrounding our coverage that month was that it was just handed to us—that we were the lucky ones chosen and got to go for that reason. However, that wasn’t the case. I had to fight for us to continue covering the tournament several different times. Whether it was an advisor saying no, the SOC not sure they had the funds, or athletics not wanting to approve certain credentials—I had to fight. It was a lot of emails, a lot of phone calls, and a lot of meetings, but it was all worth it.
My dad and I in Atlanta. I didn’t have a ton of time to talk with him, but we did grab a quick photo during the Kentucky/Kansas State game after I had uploaded the show. (Please appreciate the sleep-deprived Hayley in this photo.)
I found out on Tuesday that I would be going to Atlanta to cover the Sweet Sixteen and I felt like I was on cloud nine. There were some changes to the people we were bringing, this time instead of four it was eight students. I had to immediately send out emails to professors regarding my upcoming absences (again) which included both quizzes and exams that I would be missing. I am very grateful for my professors that worked with me to help me not only get to go on these trips, but also make up missed assignments and tests. The professor who did not allow me to make up my missed quiz also taught me a lesson—sometimes life experiences are simply more important than a grade (and trust me, this was a very hard lesson for me to learn.)
We arrived at Atlanta and made it to our hotel room where we pretty much crashed immediately after making plans for the game the following day. We arrived at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) and had to do a live hit for my newscasting and producing class. After that was finished, we were able to make it to the media room and start working on our various assignments for that night’s show. This always included making packages, SOT’s, figuring out who was analyzing what team. This was also the time where I took a good hour each day to read cover-to-cover the material given on the opposing teams we were facing.
I have a confession to make, my appreciation of sports really didn’t hit me until I was a sophomore in college and even now I am not an expert on most teams. However, I will never let that be a reason I can’t succeed at something. I'm not going to say “I don’t know anything about Nevada, so I can’t host (or analyze) in the show tonight.” Instead, I always prepare the best I can and teach myself everything that I might need to know so that no one can count me out.
A quick look at what the post-game press conference usually looked like. The winning team always appeared first.
The Nevada game was exhilarating. A lot of people really didn’t think Loyola had it in them to take out the Wolf Pack and I myself quickly saw the power of Caleb and Cody Martin (seriously, they are even more powerful than Zack and Cody Martin.) There were moments where it looked like Loyola’s run was over and then there were moments where I wasn’t sure. In the end, Marques Townes came through for the Ramblers and they defeated Nevada 69-68.
The Nevada game was exciting for me for several reasons: I was sitting press row behind Head Coach Porter Moser and hearing his dialogue during the game; Loyola beat Nevada and was continuing on to the Elite Eight; and my dad was in attendance. My dad had driven down from a business trip in Mississippi to watch the game and cheer on his daughter’s school. It was nice to get to share that moment with him, but also for him to get to see the journalist side of me.
Loyola was off the next day, but that didn’t mean we got a break. Instead, it was media day. We headed back to the arena and interviewed Loyola players and Moser. We once again started working on various articles and pieces for the next day’s show. I wandered around Atlanta with Henry and interviewed plenty of fans for a fun reaction piece. People often ask me what it was like to visit all these cities, but truthfully, wandering around Atlanta for that package was the most I got to see of it.
Having access to the court is always a plus. Everyone was trying to grab that perfect “celebration” photo, but I liked this one because it also shows all the chaos of the media!
All eight of us students went out to dinner after finishing our projects for the day and afterwards some of us went out to a random pub we had walked past. While inside, we ran into a bunch of alumni who joined us at our table and talked for awhile. It was moments like that where it hit me what this team was doing. They were bringing new and old fans together and giving them something to cheer for. I loved talking with everyone we met, plus one of them picked up our tab… so, thanks for that!
The following day, Loyola beat Kansas State 78-62 and for once, I was able to breathe on press row. I had forgotten what it was like to know the team you are covering is going to win. As usual, I didn’t cheer while on press row or show any allegiance, but I must admit that a smile or two definitely appeared on my face when I saw Ben Richardson have a career-high night.
Marques Townes in the locker room following their Elite Eight victory. We might not have had the same big cameras as the news stations, but we still fought and got our interviews.
After the game, we once again went to the locker room and press conference and filmed our post-game analysis show. When we were packing up to leave the arena afterwards, I remember passing all the logos for the teams that had played in Atlanta that weekend and realizing that Loyola was the only one left. I couldn’t even imagine the enormity of what being a Final Four team truly was yet. We got in the van to head to the hotel before our flight which was early the next morning and I remember being told that “we had to go to San Antonio. We have to cover it, we’ve made it this far.” But, at the same time, I recall being told by my advisor that the SOC was out of the funds to send us.
It was weird boarding the plane back to Chicago. On the one hand I knew that Loyola’s journey in March Madness wasn’t over, but on the other hand, I didn’t know if mine was. But, that’s a story for another blog.
To Be Continued…