|
No matter the result, what a great weekend. Before I start with this summary, I wanted to thank all those who were involved in getting my friends and I to Buffalo. Jerry Quinn, thank you very much for your help with everything that went into the logistics of the trip, putting up with my persistent questions and being flexible. Wish we could have met you on the trip and thanked you in person! To all the alumni that my friends and I met on the trip, thank you for making us feel welcome even when there were essentially no other students present. And to everyone at VU Sports with the heart and passion that drive Villanova basketball for sending us to Buffalo - thank you.  Friday St Patrick's Day! We set out from Villanova at around 0700 in order to make the Alumni event in Buffalo. We sadly were not able to make the Thursday game - all four of us are in NROTC and have classes that we must attend on Thursday, but rest assured, we followed (and sweated through) the first round game against Mount St Mary's. The trip took about six hours and we drove all the way through (and may have been pulled over mid way...). But eventually we arrived in Buffalo, went immediately to get some food at Cracker Barrel (very traditional Buffalo food I've heard), got settled at our hotel, and met up with the co-winner, Sarah DeAngelis! We carpooled to the alumni event at Templeton Landing and met a bunch of great people and alumni - I'll let some of the pictures talk for themselves! I was also grateful to meet VU Alumni Board President Terry Delaney who introduced us to all kinds of people including VU Alumni Board member Patty Esposito, Dean Mark Alexander, and Keith Jones, who was nice enough to feature us in an interview that aired on NBC 10!
 NBC10 Anchor and Villanova alum Keith Jones!  After the band and cheerleaders had left and the event had concluded, Sarah and her friend Abby joined my friends and I on a St. Patrick's Day bar crawl to get to know the city better and to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. After eating, we embarked and met students that went to University of Buffalo, all of whom were rooting for Villanova in the tournament. After a long day, we finally went back to the hotel and retired for the night, getting ready to root for Villanova the next day. Saturday The next morning, we woke up, got breakfast, and headed to the Hyatt Regency in order to take place in the team send off. The energy was awesome and it really seemed like the alumni were out in full force, even if the students had not yet arrived on the bus to take them up. After getting a coffee and meeting up with some of the people we had met the day previously, the team came down on the escalator and seemed ready to go. It was almost game time! Four hours later, we left Keybank Center demoralized. It was an exciting game throughout, and my friends and I had never let go of our faith that the Wildcats would be able to get over their slow shooting start and end up winning the game. Unfortunately, Wisconsin was just better that day, and I left my final Villanova game as a student for good. In order to cheer ourselves up, we went searching for the best wings in Buffalo. We first tried Anchor Bar, where the first wings were allegedly invented. However, the line was too long with what was presumably Wisconsin fans celebrating, so we decided to go where the best wings were located - Duffs. Needless to say, we ate our hearts out, trying to ignored the constant ESPN highlights going on around us about how the number one seed in the nation had been upset. People noticed we were upset, or just saw we were in Villanova gear, as more than a few people came and told us, "we had Villanova in our bracket!"  Sunday We left the next day after stopping by Tim Horton's (which my friend calls the "Canadian Dunkin Donuts"). After a few hours of silence in our car, we eventually started talking about what a great season it was, and what a great trip it was as well. Even though the result was not what we wanted, and I'm unable to go and make a trip up to Madison Square Garden to see my Wildcats play once again, I know that the four years I've had at Villanova have been quite special, and I would not trade it away for anything. Go Cats! Alfred Hwang, Class of 2017 
0 Comments
|
