Hayesfan some mock has Terrence at 15 so he has been slipping. Coming into the season he wasn't thought of as a one and done player. It seems like his one and done hype came into effect after the Maui tournament. Offensively he is definitely not ready for the NBA but coming back could actually hurt his stock even more so I wouldn't blame him for leaving.
Reliant is going to be pretty damned quiet for the final round. Very few fans from either of those schools in town. Florida, Arizona, Kansas, UNC, Kentucky.... all of the big draws got bumped, ugh.
I'm flying down from Calgary today and will be as loud as I can for UConn. I went to Vandy, but I was conceived at UConn, so I am fond of the school and its liberal alcohol policies :grin:
So what's up with Uconn, are they that bad when it comes to attendance or is it just a matter of distance? Probably a little of both?
Let's put it this way... they LOST money being in a bowl game because they couldn't get enough fans to buy their tickets.
Heading out tomorrow night to reliant for the game. Does anyone know about the parking situation? Are there cash lots you can park at? Also what's the deal with the NCAA Tip-off party outside of reliant? Is that open to everyone who has a ticket or do I need some kind of pass?
And this was with UK fans wanting to be there: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkc/men/7504289.html Few problems, but plenty of tickets Some fans couldn't give away their extras on a night Final Four sets attendance mark It was supposed to be the hottest ticket in town and the biggest college basketball event of the year, but some fans outside Reliant Stadium on Saturday were practically giving their Final Four tickets away. Sure, there were 75,421 people at Reliant Stadium, including fans near the rafters for the largest Final Four crowd in history. Many of them couldn't get enough of the atmosphere, taking in the scene from start to finish from the highest and most distance seats in the house. Outside Reliant, however, fans trying to unload extra tickets to the typically marquee event faced a tough crowd. "Nobody wants them," said Gayle Neal, 63, of Hammond, La., one of the many fans trying to sell tickets near the Reliant entry ways. "They won't even pay face value for them." It was an unexpected hiccup in a fan experience that varied for those in attendance, almost as much as the viewing angles of the seats on hand. Prices plummet to zero Fans trying to unload their extra seats outside the stadium held up ticket booklets, hoping for a passerby to stop and make an offer. Others were more direct, actively approaching fans and offering them tickets, which ranged in value from $180 to $450 for two-day bundles. Neal had been to all but two Final Four events since 1976 and had not encountered such soft demand for tickets. "I've never seen anything like it," he said. One fan sold his semifinal ticket to Jim Bragg, 56, of Dallas, for $20, and two championship tickets for $50 each. The seats were located in Reliant's 300 level, he said. Some fans gave up on selling altogether, he said. "A lot of people went in with them," Bragg said. After trying to sell his extra ticket, Chris Rhoads, 40, a Kentucky fan from Owensboro, Ky., called it quits and gave a seat away to Ronald Holden, 72, of New Orleans. The large venue put the action far enough to squint for some fans and left others craning their heads to get a better angle around the people in front of them. Still, the atmosphere was impressive, fans said. In section 628, next to a wall in a high corner of Reliant, Charles Washington, 52, sat with Deunta Marsh, 9, in what appeared to be the most distant seats in the house. The two Houstonians had received the tickets for free as part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston, Washington said. "I'm just grateful that we're here right now," said Deunta, who later zoomed in on the action using a digital camera. "You could see it here, too," he said. "You don't need binoculars." Some fans apparently did need the devices. A series of binocular-rental booths were spread throughout the stadium. Several locations had sold out by halftime of the first semifinal between Butler and Virginia Commonwealth. Busy day for light-rail line Getting to the stadium was relatively uneventful for most, fans said. Many came on private shuttles and buses that had been part of Final Four packages, while others who drove faced little traffic. Travel on the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Main Street light-rail line, however, involved some tight quarters, fans said. "It was crowded," said Shumaila Khawja, 22, of Houston, who braved a packed train from the Texas Medical Center. Andy Combs, 26, of Houston, got on the train at an overwhelmed platform at Main Street Square. A large crowd attempted to buy tickets for the train from a machine, but most ended up skipping payment altogether and simply stormed into rail cars when they arrived, he said. "A lot of people didn't understand what was going on," Combs said. Metro officials said they had few problems in arranging their increased-capacity public-transit plan to Reliant but had a major effort ready to move fans after the games. Metro was coordinating with the NCAA's local organizers and their command center, which was tracking transportation movements for more than 10,000 visitors using GPS devices and TV monitors at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Houston. Officials at the command center, in a hotel conference room, watched as small bus icons moved along a map of Houston, with many signifying shuttles or buses that were traveling in loops and with others representing transportation for teams, staffs, cheerleaders and bands.
The NCAA doesn't care because they've already sold the tickets... but the people looking to make money on those tickets REALLY needed UK to win.
Don't feel bad for scalpers. By the way, with the UConn women going down, A&M has a real good shot to win the national title.
If you park at the Fannin South parking lot (the final stop), you should be fine. But if you're coming from the other direction (downtown), maybe not so good.
Yep, despite the fact that this rail was designed specifically with the Olympics, Super Bowl and other extremely high profile tourist events in mind, it's been a failboat. Overwhelmed capacity, even with Metro tossing in shuttle buses to ease the load. Anyone here that's ever attempted to use it for the Texans know that it's passable for getting to the game and FUBAR trying to leave. The other MAJOR flaw is the rail ticketing system. 2 ATM Kiosks at each station, often with one or both inoperable, always a long process to purchase*, and pointless to even bother if more than 3 people are in line and a train is on the way. The only good way for using Metro is a Q-Card, and Metro has, for all intents and purposes, made it impossible to get one if you are a tourist from out of town. No other city in this nation has a transit system where you can't conveniently preload a card at any rail station and be good to go for your trip. Houston? Better do your research and take a cab to a Randalls. Stupid. An Honor System with boarding, impossible to attempt enforcement with hoards of this size, either on the trains or on the platforms. With these events and a solid 100+ at each stop? I'm guessing 10% of the tourists, at most, are riding the rail with a ticket and 0.001% are leaving town with any good words to say about the transit system. I had an easy time parking in the blue lots Saturday, and am hoping that the bottom rate curb appeal eases the traffic tonight. *Seriously Metro, have a big green "quick single purchase" button and maybe a big green "quick pair purchase" button where you can just hit it and swipe your card. 5 second transaction.
I have only used it a few times, but trying to take it back from the Superbowl was a complete nightmare, we ended up calling someone to pick us up because the wait was so long
Rail has been a complete failure. It seems like the traffic is backed up for two reasons: 1) The platform is too small and everyone can't fot on there at once. 2) Metro seems to be counting everyone upon exit. Maybe they are getting paid by the number of people they count leaving, because there is no way folks are buying tickets on the way out.
Calling rail a "complete failure" because it is being overused is kind of... uhh... strange. Getting people out of Reliant in an orderly manner would never allow for everyone to buy a ticket, this is why for big events, they sell "two way passes"... that way people don't have to buy a ticket to board the north bound trains. The buses typically compliment the light rail service well on event days, they go on a route that hits all the rail stops into downtown and then back again. Yes, you have to wait a while to catch your ride back north, but would you rather spend that time staring at somebody's taillights on Kirby for even longer? I'd hate to imagine the traffic nightmare without it. Mobility ftw.
