The Final Four Chronicles: The Arrival

Yes, it is that time of year again folks, where the good men of WeMakeItRain - well 2/3 of us - and the coaching staff of Southwestern Central - well 3/4 of us - and good friend head west to the promised land of the Final Four and the National Association of Baskebtall Coaches annual conference, this year held in Glendale/Phoenix/Scottsdale.  I know I have written this before, but the NCAA says the Final Four is in Phoenix, but it is actually in Glendale, but we are anchored in Scottsdale.  We will see all three of these cities, and also some guest appearances as well, especially since Sinickal's parents live in Scottsdale.  As always, all times are local and remain in the same time zone as previous entries until a change is noted.  If something occurs mid-flight, the entry will remain in the time zone in which the flight originated until landing in a different zone. [Ed. Note from Sinickal: Pepster is an attorney]

Thursday, April 4

20:30 E.D.T. - Tony Wheels up to Phoenix.

20:32 - Tony notes that his flight has a ton of UConn folks on it, and they are still the quietest fan base.  [Ed. note - last year's UConn fans didn't celebrate as we thought fitting of a championship team, and we were in the UConn host bar a lot.]

20:56 - Kev-O remarks that they have 5 titles this century, and they can't be bothered to be rowdy.

20:57 - Followed by "They don't deserve [Dan] Hurley as coach.

Friday, April 5

00:00 MDT - Tony lands in Phoenix.

04:28 EDT - Pepster departs for FLL.

05:20 - As Pepster enters the parking lot, Fat Joe featuring Li'l Wayne's We Make It Rain comes on Flex2K.  Our anthem coming on at this point in time, must be a sign.  To get yourself in the appropriate mood, give it a listen.  Fat Joe ft. Li'l Wayne

05:21 - Pepster sends the crew this photo.

04:57 - Sinickal spots Kev-O a few people ahead of him in the Clear line. Tries to get his attention, but he is both still asleep and in his phone.

05:22 - Kev-O and Sinickal meet up in DCA.  They are on the same first leg to MSP, but on different flights to PHX.

05:36 - Plane boarding and staff hierarchy is clear. Sinickal is in first class and a clearly annoyed Kev-O flips him off on his way to coach. 

05:48 - Pepster notes that the airport bars don't open until 8:00 in Fort Lauderdale.

05:50 - Sinickal - "I can't believe the State of Florida would ban the right of the people to drink at anytime though.  Not like them."

05:53 - Pepster, "Free State of Florida, my ass!"

05:54 - Kev-O joins in, "Thanks a lot DeSanctimonious!"

07:00 - Pepster sees that his flight is delayed until 7:52.

07:01 - Sinickal to Pepster, "You still can't drink though!"

04:04 MST - Tony says, "If your flight is delayed a little longer you might get one in!"

[Ed. Note - definitely too early to drink even if open, but still seems remarkable that an airport is full, and most places - not just bars - were closed.]

07:48 CDT - Sinickal and Kev-O arrive in Minneapolis and hustle to the Delta Sky Club. The drinking journey begins. Kev-O with vodka and Sinickal with bourbon. Sinickal notes that this ain't Florida.

08:50 - Sinickal and Kev-O are on different flights to Phoenix. Kev-O departs for his. 

10:33 EDT - Pepster's brother in Jersey City and sister in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, as well as Tony's brother in Queens, all text to say they were just in an earthquake.  Everyone is good though.

7:40 MST - Tony texts a graphic about the earthquake showing the epicenter in Lebanon, New Jersey.

10:43 EDT - Pepster responds, "Lebanon, huh?  Probably not the worst explosion that will happen in Lebanon this weekend.

7:45 MST - Tony replies, "Poor Lebanon.  First they come under attack due to crazy neighbors and then to be related to a location in New Jersey.  Tough week for them."

10:03 MDT - Pepster reads a group e-mail involving some friends primarily centered around college.  One of them says, "Not as bad as ones I felt when I lived in Cali. 4.8 out of 10.  Would quake again." 

10:04 - Pepster lands in Denver.

10:27 - Pepster sees a guy who is approximately 5'9" tall, and 285 pounds wearing a Colorado Buffaloes t-shirt that says "I'm not hard to find!"  

11:10 - Pepster wheels up to PHX.

10:53 MST - Kev-O lands in Phoenix.

13:08 CDT - Sinickal just got a notification that his golf clubs were put on Kev-O's earlier flight from Minneapolis.

11:48 MST - Kev-O enters Chelsea's Kitchen in the airport.

12:30 - Pepster arrives in Phoenix.

12:39 - On the way to baggage claim, Pepster passes a step-and-repeat for the Final Four with a DJ spinning dance music.  This city seems prepared!

12:52 - Pepster meets up with Kev-O in Chelsea's Kitchen, as we await Sinickal's arrival. (Note: Pepster finally gets a drink.)

12:53 - Sinickal arrives in Phoenix.

13:12 - Sinickal is grabbing his bags and going to pick up the rental car, says it'll be about 30-40 minutes.  Kev-O and Pepster order another round.

13:42 - From Sinickal, "In the car, will be on north side in about 10 minutes."

13:48 - Sinickal asks us from what door did we exit.  We tell him we are at Door 27 north.  Sinickal is three minnutes out.

13:49 - Sinickal asks "Are you sure it is Door 27?"

13:58 - Sinickal driving the rental car pulls up to the curb to pick up Kev-O and Pepster, only when he gets out of the car, it isn't Sinickal.  The driver apologizes to us as if he did something wrong by vaguely looking like Sinickal behind tinted windows.  This posting is the first time Sinickal and Tony know this happened.

14:01 - Sinickal again, "Are you sure it's Door 27?"

14:05 - Sinickal continues, "That door doesn't exist."

14:10 - It certainly does!

14:11 - Yes, the door exists, but Kev-O realizes we were at Departures on Level 2, not Arrivals on Level 1.  We're idiots.

14:26 - Kev-O tells Pepster and Sinickal that he prepped for this Final Four by studying a map of the panhandle of Oklahoma, as he is still trying to figure out where Southwestern Central is located.  [Ed. Note - it's in the northeast corner of the panhandle.]

14:33 - Since we cannot get into the AirBnB until 3, a quick stop at Fate Brewing after we pass an establishment that Bob Lanier "turned Sinickal on to."

14:34 - Guy across the bar wearing a t-shirt that reads:

                                                                Jesus

                                                                Booger

                                                                Lonnie

                                                                Mance

                                                                & Sip 

Gotta love He Got Game.

14:56 - Tony heads to the AirBnB in a Waymo!!!  "This is wild," he says.

15:02 - Tony arrives safely at AirBnB.

15:04 - The rest arrive at the AirBnB.

15:33 - Heading to Albertsons for "supplies."

15:38 - Kev-O sees a distraught mother in the parking lot and remarks, "She definitely beats her kids!"  To be fair, they looked like they deserved it.

15:44 - Full liquor sold in the grocery store.  And we thought Florida was a "free" state.

16:12 - Pepster sees his first pedi-bar.  He hates those things.  And to those that say, but you can pedal and get to drink with your friends.  Pepster says, I can drink with my friends in a bar.

16:13 - Kev-O states that he lived in Nashville for 8 years and he is certainly with Pepster.

16:14 - Sinickal to Kev-O, "But your hatred is not as visceral.  You need more bass in your voice!"

16:20 - Enter Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers.

16:28 - Order wings.

Mostly radio silence as the first women's Final Four game is on between NC State and South Carolina.  South Carolina rolls.

17:54 - DJ Burns' sister just checked in for NC State.

18:52 - Leave Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers.

18:54 - While walking to the car, see a lot of bikers at the Mexican restaurant next to Cold Beer and Cheeseburgers.  Kev-O notices one of them and says, "Can you really be a Harley-Davidson guy and wear Skechers?"

18:56 - Kev-O realizes that we all hobbled out of Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers.  Discuss whether it is age creeping up on us, or the fact that our bodies are three hours ahead.  We note it is the time change.

18:58 - Another f'in pedi bar.

19:00 - Enter Coach House.  See Danielle and Trey, Pepster's second cousin and second cousin-in-law [Ed. Note - her husband] from Seattle.  They are in town for - you guessed it - THE FINAL FOUR.  Trey is a proud alumnus of Purdue who wasn't around for their last Final Four appearance, so they made sure to come to this one!

19:01 - Sinickal and Kev-O commence the first of many games of Golden Tee.  [Ed. Note - This turned out to  be the only game of Golden Tee.]

19:02 - Before too many beers are consumed Pepster informs Danielle and Trey that they will be mentioned in the blog and asks if there is a preferred moniker other than their names.  They both agree they are just happy to be mentioned, so no alias necessary.

19:07 - Danielle is remiss that she didn't come wearing her school gear - Coastal Carolina - as everybody else had donned clothing from their respective alma mater, even those schools not in the Final Four.

Radio Silence as a lot of people are watching the Iowa-Connecticut women's final four game.  Apparently that Caitlyn Clark is popular.  Who knew?  [Ed. Note - we did.]

19:57 - Danielle and Trey start their inquiry of Sinickal - whose parents live in Scottsdale - as to where they could get something good to eat that is close.

20:31 - Very questionable illegal screen called against UConn.

20:42 - Danielle and Trey still probably in need of food, but have an other drink to hang out with us instead!

21:08 - Band at the Coach House breaks into Bust a Move, then tells the crowd that it was a song by Young MC. This would be funny if we had a picture of the band.

21:15 - Pepster notes that he is tired and says out loud that unlike us Danielle and Trey did not have to go through a time change to get to Scottsdale. Sinickal remarks that they probably aren't thirsty either. 

21:24 - We decide it is time for us to go home, but not before a picture to send to the Sosa/Perez family.  Please excuse the bad lighting, it was the bar's fault.

21:26 - We head home.

21:29 - Back home.  Commence eating potato chips bought earlier at Albertsons.  Wondering if Danielle and Trey ever found food ...

21:43 - Big Wigg - Pepster's friend from West Palm who now lives in Tucson texts to coordinate plans for the morning.  That's right, Big Wigg is joining!  Gonna be a crew!

21:46 - Pepster retires for the evening.