Sam Calvert
From the moment I stepped off the airplane in Indianapolis, I was surrounded by basketball. There were huge advertisements and signs everywhere. People were pouring into the city. In the short amount of time I've been here, everything has been characterized by the tournament.
Excitement fills the air everywhere I go. Just eating is tough, as traffic swarms the road. Every television in the town seems to be set to air analysis of the games. Any conversation seems to start off with some form of the same question: "Are you here for the games?"
Fans already surround Lucas Oil Stadium and have been there since early this morning. Students and fans pack close to the doors, ready and painted hours before the games begin.
In the lobby of the hotel, folks donned bright yellow shirts with navy "West Virginia" and "Mountaineers" printed so large that nobody could mistake their loyalties. A family struggled through the door, bags in tow, in their best "Duke" blue and accessorized with beads and hats and the like. "Izzone" tributes to Michigan State University coach Tom Izzo remind me that the team has made the Final Four for the second year in a row, six times in the last 12 years.
Even those who lack paraphernalia won't for long. One woman was discussing with her friend about the first purchase she would make -- a Butler University shirt. I can already anticipate the apparel tables with lines that wrap around the stadium, encircled by basketball fans from all over, trying to claim identity with one of the four that made it this far.
But these aren't the fans that intrigue me the most. Sitting in the corner of the lobby, quietly reading a book next to the fire, was a woman with "Kansas" written across her chest. Although it exited the tournament early -- in the second round -- she does not abandon her team. Surrounded by teams who have made it farther, who have proved to be the best of the best, she wears her colors proud.
This is what March Madness is all about. It's about basketball and the fans who support them. It's about team faithfulness and the spirit of competition. And nothing matches the excitement of the Final Four.