Friday (That was fun) edition: Wha’ Happened?
Posted on January 18th, 2008 – 9:31 AMBy Michael Rand
We’re running a little behind today, so we’ll start this off simple and obvious: even though the Gophers came up short last night, it was plenty of fun to see Williams Arena loud and effective once again. It brings us to two questions: 1) When times are good, what is the best place in the Twin Cities to watch a game in terms of fan experience and pandemonium level? Your top choices, in our mind: Williams Arena, Mariucci Arena, Xcel Energy Center, Metrodome and, um, maybe Target Center (hey, we were there for Game 7 of the 2004 Western Conference semis, and it was LOUD). 2) When times are good, where does U of M men’s basketball rank in the overall local sports pecking order? In the Monson years, they could arguably fall as low as 6th or 7th. Tubby Smith has already brought them back to a certain degree. Where are they now, and how high can they go?
Also: DMX thinks you will enjoy this. We know that we did. Anytime a Boise State cheerleader purposely knocks another cheerleader into a big vat of balls, we’re going to be amused. That was actually Pythagoras’ other theorem, and it’s just as true as the triangle thing.
Fasola-link! He gave us three to choose from. We’re storing them up like nuts in the winter (which we’ll need after walking outside this morning. Sweet mercy).
8 Responses to "Friday (That was fun) edition: Wha’ Happened?"
Dutch from Dude Weather has a demo of “nuts in the winter” (warning: a transcript of this video on RandBall would have lots of the word [redacted]).
When things are going good, Williams arena has no peer. It is great for almost any athletic event.
After watching the game last night, I didnt know that Shaq had been teaching Tollockson how to shoot free throws. Damn shame, if he couldve made a few it wouldve been a different ending.
Realistically we just dont have the talent to hang with the upper echelon of the big ten. We have them playing well defensively, but not the athletes to make the difference down the stretch. Sounds like the McLovins….er, except for the playing like a team thing.
Speaking of scents, I just saw this on the Today show (or one of those early a.m. time fill shows). Some guy has built a fake hippo so he can get close to these notoriously shy animals (but why be shy at 6000 lbs) to gather a sample of their sweat. Why you ask (I didn’t either but the fake hippo was really cool)? Because, hippo sweat, supposedly, contains a UV inhibitor and an antibiotic. Also, unlike Phat (I won’t go there again for awhile) there is no smell to it !!
Lastly, under the DMX link, I was glad to see my tried and true “jacked up” phrase, particularly as opposed to the more controversial “j. off” version.
The thing that I noticed last night was that even though the Hoosiers played their absolute worst game of the season they still found a way to win. That is what real good teams do. The Gophers didn’t play real well either but they just don’t have the players or the fight to overcome their shortcomings.
On a side note does anyone else see a Rashad McCants carbon copy when they watch Eric Gordon? McCants played just like that when he was in college. It would be great if the Gophers could recruit a player that can get his shot off whenever he wants to.
I know everybody loves Mariucci, but it is a boring place to watch a game. It is so quiet. Once in a while the crowd gets going but then they tire and then it goes back to the vacuum that it is. The last time I watched a game there I felt like I was going to fall asleep and I think i saw a couple older folks near me already snoozing.
Nate - I agree; Mariucci is very hit-and-miss. Sometimes it is the best place in the world to watch hockey; sometimes it’s a total library.
The X is probably the best local place to watch. Although during a big game the Dome can be pretty exciting. I have yet to see the Target Center in a good tizzy, you don’t see a ton of professional basketball arenas that do get that crazy though.
I would have to say the Dome is the most exciting place to watch a game when it gets crazy. The Gopher game against Michigan was rattling my insides as the Gophers jumped out to that huge lead (which they blew in spectacular fashion, making the Dome also the most drastic deflation when things go south).
Also, the back to back homers in the playoffs against the As by the Twins a couple years ago made me think I was going to lose my voice and my hearing and tear my rotator cuff whipping the homer hanky around all in a moment.
