Elvis Sightings: Reports from the NCAA Tournament, The Calm Before the Storm Edition

The calm before the storm….

[ed. note: as he tried to file this report, the tubes got clogged more than Elvis’s arteries in 1977 — we feel fairly confident we’re back on track, with more posts to come today!]

Hey there OTE!

Not a lot to report from the week as we gear up for the best weekend any of us have had in a long time.

Finally got a chance to get out and get around town a little bit beyond the downtown areas.

First off, you have likely seen pictures of it, but damn if the giant brackets on the side of the JW Marriott aren’t impressive as hell.

The goal of drive-around was to figure out where the other venues were well in advance so it would be a bit easier to navigate. First stop, Hinkle Fieldhouse.

If you are a hoops junkie, you will have your breath taken away when you see this magnificent building in person for the first time. I mean, this is where they filmed the end of Hoosiers! Looking forward to seeing a game on the inside this weekend.

Perhaps not as storied, but certainly as interesting is the Indiana Farmers Coliseum where Iowa will play its opening round game.

The place only holds 6,500 people and is certain to be loud as hell.

Not only are the teams starting to roll into town, other fans are as well. This was demonstrated beautifully last night as I went downstairs for a nightcap to the little place in my building. There I met a handful of Clemson fans. Pleasant folks.

No, things kicked into a higher gear when I met a motley crew of Big Ten Fans. Let’s call them “Maryland Todd”, “Sparty Dude” and the “Rutgers Boys” all of which sound like opening acts for Florence + The Machine at Lollapalooza.

It was at that point in the evening when we declared that The Block Bistro and Bar was officially THE Big Ten Bar of the NCAA Tournament.

If the First Four games were any indication of things to come, we are in for a wild three weeks.

Good luck to everyone’s teams as the ball is tipped.
—HE