As I walked through the media entrance at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, I felt a chill go through my body. With two of my journalistic best friends, Jeff Uveino and Sean Mickey, we picked up our media credentials and headed downstairs to the media headquarters, where we spent pretty much all weekend.
The elevator opened, and we headed into the media workroom, where about a dozen of other journalists were madly working at tables. From there, we walked through the narrow hallways of the Barclays Center and out onto the court, staring up into the bright lights of a big-time basketball arena.
Never in my life did I think that as a sophomore in college I would be covering a Division I men’s basketball conference tournament in New York City.
While making a college decision when I was a senior at Grafton High School just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I wanted to pick a school that presented me with the best opportunities. I could’ve gone to a school like Marquette University or Bradley University. But instead, I picked St. Bonaventure, because I knew that this was a place I could get involved and gain special experiences.
While I don’t know how it really is at bigger journalism schools, I doubt that I would have gotten the opportunity I had last weekend.
During each of the three Bonnies games I covered in Brooklyn, I had unique experiences. On Friday, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Vaccaro, a St. Bonaventure graduate and one of my favorite sports writers. I introduced myself to Vaccaro, and we had a three-minute discussion in the media room after the Bonnies had put a beatdown on the George Mason Patriots. It may have been a brief discussion, but it is something that I will always remember.
On Saturday, before the Bonnies’ semi-final game against Rhode Island, I ended up running into my favorite sports broadcaster, Ian Eagle, in the tunnel of the Barclays Center a few feet away from CBS’ sports production truck. Although I didn’t work up the courage to introduce myself to Eagle (probably because I was shocked), it was surreal.
I was in close quarters with people that make sports journalism what it is. Names that I grew up following by reading their work and watching them call some of the biggest sports moments of my lifetime were all so close to me.
Saturday was also a thrill because for the first time since 2012, the Bonnies were headed to the Atlantic 10 Championship game. And I was there on press row to witness this magical run. After being a beat writer for the team all year, I wanted nothing more than to see this team succeed.
Sunday rolled around, and I was covering a conference championship game. But first, I had to deal with some adversity of my own.
When I booked my flight to go on this trip a month and a half before, I scheduled my flight to leave at 1 p.m. on Sunday. After frantically talking with my parents and rearranging plans with my friends, we paid $75 extra to get on a later flight. There was no way that we were missing the championship game.
I arrived to the arena around 11 a.m., three hours prior to gametime. While eating my pregame meal at the media buffet in the Brooklyn Nets’ practice facility, I watched the CBS Sports broadcast team practice its open to the game.
After that, I headed out to the court and soaked in the empty gym. I walked around the arena, watched both teams warm up and took it all in. This was the calm before the storm.
Soon, the game began. The national anthem was beautiful. A near full-sized American flag covered the floor as a young girl sang. Cheerleaders and Atlantic 10 representatives held up flags of each Atlantic 10 school on the sidelines. Both teams were fired up and ready to go.
I couldn’t wait to see the confetti fly and the Bonnies celebrate on the floor. Writing that story would’ve just been another thrill to an already amazing weekend.
But then plans changed. St. Louis found its groove in the second half and stifled the Bonnies for good.
Although the Bonnies had one last chance to win the game in the waning seconds, the shot didn’t fall. The buzzer sounded. And St. Louis, instead of the Bonnies, was headed to the NCAA Tournament. A heartbreaking finish to such a magical run.
But as usual, there was work to be done. Regardless of how stunned any of us were, we headed to the postgame press conference, wrote our stories and said goodbye to one of the best experiences of our young journalism careers.
As I said, I truly doubt I would’ve gotten this experience anywhere else. And that’s what makes this school so great and rewarding. You can come here, get involved, do extraordinary things and do what you love right away. Sure, I wish I was writing a different story after Sunday’s game, but I left damn proud of myself and the school that I am fortunate enough to call home.
By Mike Hogan, Sport’s Editor
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
