Flight of the Phoenix

For those of you that read this column you may have noticed that there was something missing from The Journal last week as in no Worst Seat.

There is a very good reason why, I was on vacation last week in the Phoenix area.

I honestly went there to visit family and to take in a Mariners game knowing that I would only get to see one. I had booked my flight over a month before not paying any attention to the fact that the Final Four would be played there.

I had no intention of going to the games because I know that playing a basketball game in a football stadium is merely for getting as many people buying tickets and making sure the viewing audience can see the game at home.

I had been looking forward to this getaway for a while only to find that my flight was postponed for close to an hour and a half. No problem.

The reason was mechanical issues to the plane. Thankfully they replaced the plane with mechanical problems with a different one since we took the replacement plane back to Phoenix.

Getting to Phoenix I was met at the airport by my sister in law Leslie and nephew Jason. They informed me that my great nephew’s team was in need of a soccer coach in three days with a practice the next night.

Now I’m not a soccer coach but I do enjoy coaching kids and no parent that had Saturday off were looking at taking over the team for a day.

I’m game for just about anything working with kids and sports even soccer.

There were several kids that had played before and a few that probably didn’t or at least didn’t remember what their coach had taught them.

To be honest it was a lot like herding cats. But the kids were great and it was fun having the opportunity to coach my great nephew. I can cross that off of my bucket list even though it wasn’t on it.

The next day Leslie and I watched the San Diego Padres play Colorado in an afternoon game. The sun was shining and I got a little burnt not seeing the warm sunshine for quite some time.

The most interesting thing about that particular game was the fact that there was a swarm of bees on the backstop netting. They got a little riled whenever a foul ball hit the net.

In the ninth inning something rattled the bees and they swarmed over the field and everyone on the field hit the deck as if they were all looking for a contact lens in the grass. It was funny to see players and umpires laying down on the job.

On the day before the Final Four there was a practice day for all of the teams. I went to the University of Phoenix Stadium to watch and get a feel for the atmosphere of the venue.

Just to let you know, if you had the best seat in the place you had a long walk to get to that seat. A very long walk.

That night Leslie, Landon and I watched Seattle and Colorado play. It was cold and we stayed until the end because there was a fireworks show to end spring training.

For a few reasons watching a Mariners game is better than watching a San Diego game, trust me.

The next day was the soccer game and Leslie and I went over early to get some pointers for coaching soccer. It was time well spent. No we didn’t win but like I said earlier I’m glad I did it.

We spent the afternoon getting ready to watch Gonzaga and South Carolina play.

The outcome was great because the Zags won which was difficult to achieve in a hard fought battle. But a win set up a game with North Carolina.

The Tar Heels edged Oregon in the second game. The Ducks had a couple of chances to win the game if they only would have grabbed a rebound of a missed free throw and the Tar Heels missed four of them. Wow!

On Monday Leslie and I were getting ready to watch the championship game in the comfort of her home.

About one hour before tipoff Jason called to say that he had a ticket in the Gonzaga section on the 100 level.

So I drove the 12 miles or so to get to the game. I parked over a half mile away and got to the stadium and missed about two minutes of the game, thanks to Jason.

We were sitting a ways away and spent a lot of time going back and forth watching the game on the overhead screens and the actual game on the floor.

Sadly the flow of the second half was dictated by the officiating and handcuffed several players for both teams. My Zags came up a bit short but they returned home heroes in the eyes of the fans in the northwest.

Even if you aren’t a Zags fan you should realize just how much work it took to make it to the final game.

Going to a Final Four was also not on my bucket list but I can check this one off as well. My flights to and from Phoenix were great and I had a wonderful time thanks to some great family in Arizona.

Guess I’ll have to go back next year!