March Madness in the Cleve!

Six years ago, my hubs got me into March Madness. All the double and triple OTs...how can a girl resist? 

Two years ago, we went to Dayton to see some of the first round of games and had a blast. This year, Cleveland is hosting games at the Q, and I'm pumped that we're going. We'll get to see Ohio State, hopefully twice. Yay!

Looks like Ohio State will host some games next year, so if you're interested in going, start planning! The lottery for tix usually starts right after the Final Four. I posted about our ticket-snagging strategy after we went to Dayton, so take a look, in case it's helpful.

2011 March Madness takes a spin through Cleveland

Even though right now I am in severe bracket mourning (effing Kansas), I'm pumped that next year's tourney will make a stop in Cleveland for the first and second rounds. Find the 2011 schedule here.

We had a blast in Dayton last year and got to watch two of my favorite teams: Ohio State and Louisville. If you're interested in scoring tickets, start stalking the NCAA site once the championship game in Indianapolis is over. Last year, you could apply for tickets about two weeks after the end of the tournament. I detailed instructions about how we scored our tickets in this post, in case you're interested.

Hope your brackets are faring better than mine. :(

How to score March Madness tickets

Lots of our peeps have been asking how we got tix to the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this year, so here's a quick tutorial. Warning: if you want to buy tix at face value, you need to start planning NOW.

At the conclusion of the 2008 Final Four, I used this site to track which cities hosted rounds for 2009 (the link now includes the 2010 tourney sites) since the list of cities changes every year. I decided to try to get seats for U of Dayton first and second rounds, so I stalked the university's site until it began accepting applications for 2009 (a couple weeks after the tournament ended).

Yes, you have to apply. Last year there was a $10 application fee. FYI, the greedy NCAA charges your credit card immediately for the full value of the tickets, despite the fact that I didn't find out till July that we actually were going to get tix, and we didn't actually know where our seats were till we got tix in hand about three weeks ago.

Incidentally the NCAA is being sued in a class-action suit for charging a non-refundable application fee and charging credit cards immediately, so maybe I'll eventually get my $10 back. :)

We were a little bummed that our seats weren't in the lower level, but they've provided great views, and we've since realized that a lot of the lower seats are reserved for schools. We've been sitting above the Louisville section of fans, which has been fun.

Oh, regarding our hotel this weekend, I saved up hotel points and cashed in rewards in exchange for a room (I booked last July when I knew for sure we'd get tix. Some hotels were already full). We've been using up our stash of restaurant gift cards from Christmas for our meals, so this weekend has been pretty recession-proof.

P.S. I did all of my ticket-scouring activity behind Phil's back since I gave him our tix as a surprise Christmas gift. It is a MIRACLE that I didn't spill the beans.

OSU Heartbreaker

Phil and I watched some amazing games yesterday, but our basketball bliss ended on a sour note after a sloppy Ohio State loss in double OT to Siena. We weren't the only ones bummed out because there was a sea of Bucks fans throughout the arena, which contributed to lots of tired, crabby drivers in the parking cluster $%*# after the game.

Despite the loss, the energy of the crowd was great! During the high points, the O-H-I-O wave circulated around the arena multiple times. At the low points, disgruntled fans kept shouting, "Give it to Mullins! He's 7-ft. That's really tall!"

There also were massive amounts of Louisville fans, which is why we were really hoping for a U of L and OSU showdown tomorrow. Oh well. Now I can cheer unconflicted for Louisville. :)

The Pitt game was really fun because of the almost upset of a #1 seed. Although we both have Pitt in our final four, we cheered for ETSU since they were the underdog.

In general, all the games have been fairly close, with the exception of the second half of Louisville/Morehead when U of L pulled away. And, Cleveland State crushed Wake Forest! Go Vikings! Thanks to everyone who kept texting me updates.

This morning, we're lounging at our hotel and then will head to Columbus later to meet up with some friends. Tomorrow, Pitt plays at 2:50 p.m. and Louisville plays at 5:20 p.m., meaning we won't get home till really late Sunday/Monday.

P.S. One of the best parts of seeing the games in-person - no lie - is watching all the guys wait in massive lines for the men's room while I breeze in and out of the ladies' room in no time. Where else could this possibly happen???

March Madness in Dayton

It's been so long that I've posted that I actually forgot my Blogger log-in this morning. Work's been insane, so I didn't even post when I had a work day trip to St. Louis last month. But, I'm back!

Phil and I are in Dayton for our first March Madness experience. Today we'll see four games: Louisville (my fave!), Ohio State (yay!), Pitt and Tennessee. All great teams. Sunday, we'll see two games featuring today's winners. If it's Louisville vs. Ohio State, I'll be faced with a real cheering conundrum and probs will clap for every play.

Last year, I had an amazing climb to victory (3rd place) in my office's March Madness pool. My first round picks all tanked, but I made up points big time because all the teams I picked were in the final four and I picked Kansas as the winner.

This year, my first round picks are still in the toilet (I picked a lot of upsets), so we'll see if I have the same luck. If not, I'll still be talking about last year's money grab for YEARS.