Even before we reached the Bahamas, we ran into countless college basketball fans. On our connecting flight to Nassau from Orlando, I struck up a conversation with a couple of retirees from Jacksonville who were heading the the Atlantis to cheer on Memphis; they both attended the university back when it was still known as Memphis State. The shuttle bus that we took from the airport to the hotel was filled with fans from each of the tournament's eight schools, and we spent the 45-minute-long ride mocking a couple of Minnesota Golden Gophers fans for snapping pictures of everything from the bus window, as if they had never left their cul-de-sac in St. Paul before. While sitting in an inner tube, riding a conveyor belt built to take people to the top of a water slide, I got into a conversation with a guy from Missouri about their game against Stanford from the day before. The entire weekend was filled with random conversations with college basketball fans about the tournament and occassional run-ins with the players and coaches themselves. While playing blackjack in the casino we spotted Coach K and his Blue Devils, we saw Stanford and assistant coach Mark Madsen on the way to dinner, and passed the rest of the teams while walking in and around the Imperial Arena.
Stanford prepares for its first game of the tournament versus Missouri.
Often, when we think about college basketball fans, we think about college students - the Cameron Crazies at Duke, for example. Interestingly, there were virtually zero college students at the Battle 4 Atlantis, likely spending their Thanksgiving holidays at home with family and friends or at a more wallet-friendly vacation destination. Instead, the Battle 4 Atlantis fans fit into a few main categories. Of course, there were lots of young and middle-aged alums, including myself. There were also lots of retirees, eager to find an excuse not to cook Thanksgiving dinner and find some warm weather in the process - I was constantly running into a giant pack of elderly Minnesota fans wearing matching t-shirts made specifically for the trip. Then, there were the super-fans -some of whom might've also have been alums - who never miss a game regardless of what country it's played in. Last, there were a few locals sprinkled in here and there - Bahamas residents excited enough about the sport of basketball to spend money to watch kids from colleges they've almost certainly never been to (or, in the case of Northern Iowa, heard of) before.
Often, when we think about college basketball fans, we think about college students - the Cameron Crazies at Duke, for example. Interestingly, there were virtually zero college students at the Battle 4 Atlantis, likely spending their Thanksgiving holidays at home with family and friends or at a more wallet-friendly vacation destination. Instead, the Battle 4 Atlantis fans fit into a few main categories. Of course, there were lots of young and middle-aged alums, including myself. There were also lots of retirees, eager to find an excuse not to cook Thanksgiving dinner and find some warm weather in the process - I was constantly running into a giant pack of elderly Minnesota fans wearing matching t-shirts made specifically for the trip. Then, there were the super-fans -some of whom might've also have been alums - who never miss a game regardless of what country it's played in. Last, there were a few locals sprinkled in here and there - Bahamas residents excited enough about the sport of basketball to spend money to watch kids from colleges they've almost certainly never been to (or, in the case of Northern Iowa, heard of) before.
Neutral site tournaments are always fun, from college basketball's March Madness to the FIFA World Cup, and the Battle 4 Atlantis was certainly no exception. With only the most diehard fans willing to pass on a traditional Thanksgiving in favor of non-conference college basketball, I spent five days in a beautiful setting talking about sports with some of the country's most intelligent and passionate college hoops fans. While I would have loved to have seen a larger Stanford contingent with which to talk about Dwight Powell's inside game or Aaron Bright's injury - as usual, the Stanford fans left much to be desired in the attendance department - it was kind of fun to be part of an underrepresented fan minority. After two straight months of being surrounded by fellow Giants and Knicks fans, it was great to get away from New York for a few days and be the token cardinal red-clad Stanford fan in the Bahamas.
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