2003 memories

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

I'm just curious to see what you all were doing during the  elite 8 game against Kentucky. I was only 10 at the time and that happened to be my first memory of MU. I was really upset because they busted my bracket but just wanted to know what the reaction was to those on campus or at the game.

[pbiflyer]

Sitting in a bar in downtown West Palm Beach after Sunfest (smaller version of Summerfest here). Ended up sitting next to a KY fan. What a sweet game. I remember waiting until there was less than 2 minutes left in the game before calling for airplane tickets to New Orleans.

[MDMU04]

I was a junior at the time, lived in an apartment on 15th street. We had a keg party to watch the game and for afterwards. As soon as the game ended, everyone poured out of the nearby houses and apartments and ran out on to wells street. It was a mob scene there for a few minutes.

After what couldn't have been more than a few minutes some more people showed up and an impromptu parade down Wisconsin ave started. It went all the way to the lake. Traffic was stopped but just about everyone was honking their horns and hanging out of their cars in celebration.

I have no idea how long it took to get here and back, but eventually my group made it home. The parties on campus resumed for a few more hours. The team arrived back on campus that night and we went over to the rec center area to greet the bus.

It was bedlam after that and to be honest, things are a bit fuzzy for the rest of the night. I do distinctly remember a few players were behind the bar at Murphy's handing out drinks.

It was awesome.

[tower912]

Watching with other MU alums and their families at one of their houses.    Not ashamed to say I cried at the end. 

[River rat]

Nice
Was at Palm Desert, CA on vacation.  Had made the plans long in advance and was disappointed to not be able to go to twin cities.  I had been to Indianapolis the weekend before to watch two epic games for MU to advance.  
As with others for sure called to get palne tickets shortly after game.  Tickets to NO went from like $300 to $900 immeditely after the game from either Milwaukee or Chicago.  Flew to Pensacola, for very cheap IIRC on Southwest and rented a car, drove to NO, hitting casinos and bathrooms on the way.
Saw Crean in the lobby shortly before the game he was emotionally drained looked like a terminal cancer patient days before death.  on that moment I knew we were dead, a team takes on the character and emotion of his coach.  Our coach was panicked and completely psyched out, a few hours later and minutes after tip off it was all over.  Our team had followed the lead of our coach and shat the bed!

[Benny B]

Watched the game from the Metrodome's "student section," third row behind the basket.  Everything after that is pretty much a blur.

Before the game, I recall seeing Scott Walker (who was county exec at the time) at the alumni gathering at the Crowne Plaza.  The reason I remember that part is because my buddy - who had started a couple hours earlier than me - told me who he was no fewer than 3-4 times.  At some point, that led to a diatribe about "the damn bird" and the nickname ordeal which eventually culminated with him observing that the free MU buttons being passed out had a silhouette of the golden eagle, at which point he frisbee'd the one he'd been wearing across the room.

I also recall while eating pizza at halftime, the general consensus amongst our group of four was that we couldn't believe how well MU was playing, and we were hoping our guys could at least keep it close until the end.  Some of us - myself included - didn't even realize how badly injured Bogans was until someone pointed out that he barely played 10 minutes of the first half... at that point, the sentiment turned from cautious hope to "we're going to f__ing crush these guys!"  And so it happened.

Later that night, I vaguely remember being in a bar that was busting at the seams with MU faithful where everyone was chanting "f___ Kansas" everytime their highlights came up on screen.  I don't know if my mind was playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn that a couple walked into that bar with KU sweatshirts on at one point... not sure what happened to them.

[Galway Eagle]

This is the mobile link (not sure if it'll work) to a video that was made about it but it seems to sum it up.  I was in MKE visiting my sister and had no idea what was going on but it was pretty cool to see

http://youtu.be/rs26f83ie_8

[River rat]

crean fooked up a wet dream

[THRILLHO]

That's a great memory! I was a senior and watched the game at Caffrey's. It was pretty incredible, we couldn't believe everything was going so well. Then afterwards everybody streamed out into the streets, at the corner of 16th and Wells. At some point someone started running. I didn't know where they were going but I ran along with a few buddies. They turned onto Wisconsin and ran all the way downtown, I had no idea if there was someone up front with a plan or if this was just random mob behavior but I followed along.  Eventually we got down to the lakefront, near that funky statue, where people stopped and did some cheering and then the crowd broke up. We didn't feel like walking all the way back right away so we bar-hopped back to campus.

[LloydMooresLegs]

With Mrs. Legs (MU alum), sister Legs (also MU alum) and her husband and my parents at home.  What a rare joy--to watch the last 5 plus minutes of a game without the usual dread; instead, watching delirious with certainty of victory and the Final Four.

[swoopem]

I was a freshman in high school watching it at my house with my family. My brother was a freshman at MU that year so that season was beginning of my love for Marquette.

Bagpiper, good find on that video.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

The Kentucky game of March 2003.  ---  I had a 2 year daughter and another 3 week old newborn daughter at the time.  And I was in the middle of a big home addition simultaneously where my contractor was already 3 months behind and counting.  (He wouldn't finish for another 4 months later.)  I took a break from my daily house painting to eat and watch the game.  

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

I was a Freshman and watched the game on the fifth floor in McCormick. We had about 9 people crammed into one of those little rooms if I recall correctly, and by the middle of the second half, we were staring at each other in disbelief. After the game we lost our damn minds and people were screaming in the halls.

We saw the crowd start to assemble at 16th and Wells outside of Angelo's (Now Sobelman's @ Marquette for you younguns), and sprinted downstairs to join the jumping mass of humanity which then took off down Wells, crossed over to Wisconsin Ave at Schroeder Field, and then ran all to the lake, with kids climbing light poles and statues everywhere. Helicopters were flying overhead and cops were blocking off traffic and high fiving us. For some reason I remember someone leading the chanting portion of Ring Out playing an airhorn or a duck call or something. The party continued at the Lake for the better part of several hours. Just pure delirium. Part of me regretted not taking the chance to go up to Minneapolis for the game, but running to the lake that day with my friends was one of my best college memories from my time at Marquette.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I'm just curious to see what you all were doing during the  elite 8 game against Kentucky. I was only 10 at the time and that happened to be my first memory of MU. I was really upset because they busted my bracket but just wanted to know what the reaction was to those on campus or at the game.

Watched the game in So. Cal.  It was surreal that we kicked the crap out of them as much as we did.  

Next night, went to opening day for the Angels as they raised the World Series flag and gave out the rings.  Ran into several Angels fans at the stadium sporting Marquette stuff.  It was a very good weekend to be a Marquette and Angels fan to say the least.

Immediately traded in American Airlines miles and grabbed a flight from L.A. to New Orleans on that Friday.  Met some MU buddies of mine in N.O. where I crashed at their hotel.  Bro In Law came from Denver, but he had to fly to Houston and then drive over as no flights were available.

[starting5]

Watched the game with my 2 month old son.  Spent a good portion of the first half cleaning him up after he had a blow out.

Incidentlly last night at a basketball workout (in the house that Sam Dekker built) he wore my Nike Air Max that the 2003 team wore.

[MDMU04]

...and then ran all to the lake, with kids climbing light poles and statues everywhere. Helicopters were flying overhead and cops were blocking off traffic and high fiving us. For some reason I remember someone leading the chanting portion of Ring Out playing an airhorn or a duck call or something. The party continued at the Lake for the better part of several hours. Just pure delirium.

That's a perfect way to describe it. Everyone was into it, from the cops blocking off streets to the people driving to wherever they were trying to go in their cars.  They were stopped dead in traffic but even they seemed happy to be there. Some people were even standing on top of their cars and cheering. People were climbing trees, light poles, statues. It was as close to a riot as I'd care to experience, but it was pure joy. Everyone was so happy.

[mu-rara]

Went to Indy and Minny without my wife.  Of course it was all guys weekends anyway.

Call her on the way home from Minny and ask her if she wants to go to NO.  Of course she wants to go.

So we go to NO with a lot of our friends (this time the wives want to go, figure that).  6 or 7 of our then 5th grade daughters class had parents in NO.  Many other friends from hometown along with roommates and friends from MU were their too.  Great time.

[MUfan12]

I was a senior in HS, and took a last-minute trip to Minneapolis with my neighbor and two other alums. We got seats from a Pitt fan that were 10 rows behind the MU bench. We all had a good feeling going in, after seeing UK look unconvincing against Wisconsin on Thursday, but nobody expected that.

It was an incredible thing to be a part of, and one of the best days of my life.

[drewm88]

At the game in MPLS. High schooler at the time. Marquette runs in the family, so I was already fully entrenched in my fandom. Remains one of the best days of my life.

[GooooMarquette]

I live just an hour from Minneapolis, so I was easily able to attend both the Pitt and UK games for little more than the cost of tickets and about a tank of gas - no need for hotels or much else.  Overall, the cheapest - and one of the best - MU tournament games I've ever attended.

We attended the pregame sendoff at the team hotel.  Since it was several floors down from the ballroom to street level and I wanted to get out and to the Metrodome asap afterwards, we were standing right next to an exit stairwell so we didn't have to wait for an elevator.  It turned out that the team had also decided to go down that stairwell to get to the team bus in the parking garage, so I was the last person to high five the players on their way out.

I remember sitting in the stands - lower level corner - dreading the big UK rally that never came.  At halftime, I just looked at my wife and said "I can't believe we may actually be 20 minutes away from the Final Four."  Having attended the 1977 Final Four and then living through the Dukiet years, I honestly believed we'd never be back.  

Afterwards, I just remember sitting on the floor of the ballroom of the team hotel - exhausted - unable to comprehend that we were actually going back to the Final Four.

[Skatastrophy]

That's a great memory! I was a senior and watched the game at Caffrey's. It was pretty incredible, we couldn't believe everything was going so well. Then afterwards everybody streamed out into the streets, at the corner of 16th and Wells. At some point someone started running. I didn't know where they were going but I ran along with a few buddies. They turned onto Wisconsin and ran all the way downtown, I had no idea if there was someone up front with a plan or if this was just random mob behavior but I followed along.  Eventually we got down to the lakefront, near that funky statue, where people stopped and did some cheering and then the crowd broke up. We didn't feel like walking all the way back right away so we bar-hopped back to campus.

I have the same story, but I was at Murph's.

I remember keg-stands in the middle of 16th and Wells. I was completely soaked in beer because people chucked beers into the air at Murphs after ever big play. My hand stung pretty bad from all of the high-fives that afternoon/evening.

Running down to the lake seemed like a good idea until you sober up halfway through the jog down there. We got to the lake with a distinct sense of "now what?" The Phister was not ready for that many drunk, sweaty Marquette kids to pile into their lobby for a bathroom break, that's for sure!

[CTWarrior]

I was in the middle of an SAP implementation working 7 days a week 14-15 hour days, with the system going live the following Monday.  Left the office to go home and watch the game against Kentucky.  Had a celebratory beer with the Mrs and went back to work for another 8 hours with a (expletive deleted) eating grin on my face.

My first day off in a month was the game against Kansas, which I watched from my sister's house while at my nephew's birthday party.  I would've rather worked another 14 hour day than watch that.

[MU11W]

I was a sophomore at the time and was sitting in the nosebleeds of the Metrodome for the game. A group of us had bought tickets after the Sweet Sixteen game and drove up on Saturday morning.  I remember calling my parent's halftime and telling my dad that "I don't want to say what I think might happen, but I really think it'll happen." He promptly told me that he and I my mom were already online looking at flights to New Orleans. I didn't want to jinx anything so I told them not to buy any tickets yet and wait until the game is over.  I believe that they pulled the trigger on the tickets just before the game ended.

Stayed at a friends parent's house w/ about 15 others that night and had a great time celebrating.  

I also remember stopping at a KFC buffet somewhere in Wisconsin on the drive home and there had to been about 25 - 50 other Marquette students stopping there at the same time.  Apparently we weren't the only ones who thought fried chicken sounded like a great hangover cure.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I was 14 at the time. Being the child of two Warriors who grew up in St. Paul. We were of course at the game. My dad sprung for lower bowl tickets. The crowd surrounding us exploded with every big play. I remember being in state of pure joy when Wade got the "send it in, medium size fella" dunk. I knew we were going to win. My dad kept telling me not to jinx it, but I didn't care. That game was ours.

Definitely my favorite MU memory.

[coachJ4prez]

Sitting in the upper deck...had the tickets before MU was seeded there... Never forget it. Never.