The Final Four in
Indianapolis
by Terry Hogan
It was the Final Four
Finale in Indianapolis. The city
was Òchuck fullÓ of fans and "high rollers" that could afford to pay
a minimum of $900/night to stay at the brand new Conrad Hotel downtown. Did I mention, there was also a
four-night minimum? That makes
$3600 for four nights plus various taxes, which would bring in over the $4,000
mark. The city had looked forward
to this economic shot in the arm for several years now. Fifty thousand fans plus radio, TV, and
yes, even a few print journalists and support crews, helped to book all the
motel rooms in and near the city. The bars and restaurants stayed open later to
accommodate the happy winners who celebrated and the sad losers who wanted to
drown their loss and plan for next year. But the establishments complained
because IndianaÕs legislature voted to go on daylight savings time for the
first time this year, so the bars and restaurants ÒlostÓ an hour of business
Saturday night. Most prices
for about anything had been Òjacked upÓ for the weekend. Even local gas prices seemed to have
gone up suddenly. Perhaps it was just a coincidence. But there is no doubt
about supply and demand hotel room prices.
Weather offered more
excitement in Indianapolis than the games, however.
Corporate High Rollers
Who paid $4,000 for four
nights? Not me. But I'm speculating it was the CEOs and
those lobbyists and others who entertained important corporate clients. There were a number of famous faces,
such as pro-sport types, current and past, that probably also stayed where the
common fan couldnÕt. Coaches of
all shapes and dispositions also were attracted to the spotlight like moths to
the fire.
Locals
How about the Indianapolis
"locals"? If they were
not part of the support activities — waiters, bartenders, hotel
employees, cabbies, police, etc., many avoided the city like the avian
plague. A number of my friends
left town for the weekend. Speaking of police, they were out in great
numbers. Many of the streets in the
downtown area were marked as no–parking areas. Police and tow truck
operators waited like vultures to ticket and tow off the vehicles owned by the
illiterate, the indifferent, or those VIPs who believed that the police
wouldn't dare tow their cars.
There were a few basketball
games played. I suppose that is, in part, why the crowd was in the city. But with the typical "Big 10"
flare, the Midwestern teams dropped like flies at a pesticide convention.
Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa teams were not to be
found among the Final Four.
Monday night's final game
was a commuting problem for the "locals," compounded by other
problems. Most locals are required
to work and commute into Indianapolis, which has a fairly decent commuter rush hour.
Traffic goes pretty well when everyone is used to running bumper to bumper at
75 mph around the beltway and in the "Inner Loop" (I-65 and
I-70). These two interstates
provide access to the heart of the city and also to the hotels and RCA Dome
where the games were played. Fans not used to commuter behavior on these
interstates put their lives and the lives of the regular commuters at
risk. The system only survives as
long as nobody does anything stupid while traveling at 75 and reading the fine
print on the bumper sticker a couple of feet ahead of you.
Ticket Scalping
Scalping of sport tickets,
or any other type of ticket, except perhaps speeding, is legal in Indiana. So there was, of course, a thriving
business with those fans who showed up without tickets. After spending $4,000
for lodging, the high rollers were obligated to pay the top dollar for the best
seats. Rumors had tickets going
for as high as $7,000, but these may have been scalpers' rumors to help their
business. There were even published reports of counterfeit tickets being sold.
The Final Four is a little bit like Òsurvival of the fittestÓ — for the
fans, not the teams. If you've got
the money or the credit, the hotels, restaurants, and scalpers will stroke your
ego.
Tornadoes, High Winds, Hail, and
Thunderstorms, Oh My
Sunday, Indianapolis had a
number of free concerts on Monument Circle (dead center downtown), but the
weather wasn't cooperative. Early in the evening there was spotty rain and it
was cool and windy. In the evening,
with a free outdoor concert presented by Indiana's own John Melloncamp, central
Indiana was under a number of tornado, hail, and thunderstorm warnings.
Luckily, the crowd had departed from the concert when the worst weather hit
Indianapolis. Damaging straight line winds blew down trees and damaged homes.
Monday's sunrise showed one
of Indianapolis' tallest buildings in dismal shape. The high winds blew in the
windows on the southwest and northwest corners of about 16 upper stories of the
Regions Bank Building. Apparently
the force of the wind blew in the windows on the west side of the building and
blew out the windows on the north and south sides of the building. Monday morning, many of the downtown
streets were closed to traffic due to debris and risk of more falling glass and
metal from the skyscraper. A
debris path of office papers, files, vertical window shades, insulation, and
other office contents could easily be tracked for at least six blocks to the
northeast from the damaged skyscraper.
Monday Night Fans
Monday's weather wasn't much better, but the RCA Dome is a
dome, so rain or cool weather
wasn't going to dampen the spirits of the true fan who had spent
thousands of dollars for the "big game" or the "big dance,"
if you prefer. But there weren't that many true fans left for Monday night's
game. Many fans went home after
their teams lost. UCLA and Florida fans were not in great abundance around
Indianapolis on Monday. Some of
the corporate suite owners in the dome were fishing around with lower tier
clients, trying to fill the suites for a game involving two teams with little
local interest, a game that didn't start until nearly 9:30pm. Suddenly, the hottest tickets in town
began to cool.
New Colts Stadium and the Civil War Dead
But as the loyal fans
trudged into the dome Friday and Monday, sporting team logos and colors, the
scalpers were there selling tickets for the best price the market would bear.
Nearby, just south of the dome, is a really big hole that will become the new home
of the Indianapolis Colts. Few
know (and fewer probably care) that just a few blocks west toward the White
River lay the forgotten bones of Southern Civil War prisoners of war that had
died at Indianapolis' Camp Morton.
Most of the remains were recovered and relocated to another cemetery on
the north side of the city. But
not all the remains were found, at least according to rumor. A marker dedicated to the southern
soldiers who died at Camp Morton was relocated from the burial site clear
across Indianapolis to the southeast and placed in a pretty city park that has
nothing to do with the location of dead civil war soldiers. But it is a pretty
park, so maybe that is enough. It
is an unfortunate joke on our southern friends who come to see where their
ancestors died and were buried.
But history and time
continues. The cries of the dying Civil War soldiers have been replaced by the
cheers of the Final Four basketball fans.
Each has passed into history as Indianapolis has been returned to the
Hoosiers who call it home and/or workplace. Hotel rooms will become cheaper. Food, gas, and parking garage prices will return to pre-hype
levels. Life will return to normal
for the locals. Fans will be gone:
some cheering but more disappointed.
But they will all share one thing in common — leaving a fistful or
two of money behind. They will be
replaced, in part, by the engineers who will try to figure out why the building
failed to withstand the storm and by the skilled workers who will try to get
folks back in their shattered offices as soon as practicable.
Tournament Winner — Florida
Oh yes, I nearly
forgot. Florida won the NCAA title
Monday night, while UCLA went home after the loss of its last game of the
season. I didnÕt watch the game at the RCA Dome or on TV. It started too late for me. I don't
recall the score, but it doesn't matter.
It is all history now, just
another story blowing in the wind.