On Friday, a couple sports reporters and I made our way up to Spokane for the first round of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament. After taking photos of our UI teams for two years at this point, the photography with such incredible teams on such a large stage was very eye-opening.
After arriving in time for the start of the second game (Auburn vs Yale), the security situation was a lot more intense than I’m used to at UI. After showing my ID for a press pass and dawning the photographer arm-band, I walked out on the court under the bright lights.
Over the course of the day, the arena was filled with up to 11,616 people. Up till this point, I’d only dreamed of photographing games this big.
Auburn vs Yale was an intense game. I’ll leave the sports reporting to the sports reporters, but it was a big upset. I sat next to the Yale bench and was glad to capture moments of celebration and heartbreak all throughout this close game. Also, the Yale band had many familiar faces, because they were a rag-tag group of UI performers that came together to help after hearing that Yale’s band couldn’t make it.
Alabama vs Charleston did not live up to the hype of the previous game. After a close start, Alabama pulled far ahead. Charleston never really recovered. In any case, I got to watch one of the country’s most dominant offenses through the lens of my camera and capture some great moments. Sitting next to Charleston’s bench was rough, though. I ended up listening to the team cope with their eventual loss and injury. This was a passionate game, to say the least.
While Alabama vs Charleston may not have been a nail-biter, Grand Canyon University vs St. Mary’s College was very intense until the end. With another sizable upset for the bracket, this game had one of the best fan showings of any game I’ve ever seen, coming more than 1,300 miles from GCU. One can only think that this contributed hugely to the Lopes’ win over the Gaels.
I’m super glad that the Argonaut had the opportunity to cover this monumental event. We’ll be coming back to Spokane on Sunday for the second round, let’s hope it’s as exciting as the first.
John Keegan can be reached at [email protected]