On this day in 2004...

[gdamian]

 

[Jacketman99]

Also Okafor was hurt in our game at MSG. Not so tournament time.

Elder was hurt for the championship game. Would have loved to have played with both teams healthy.

 

[MidtownJacket]

Any other thoughts on your experience that weekend? Would be fun to relive through others.

Who else made the trip?

That was my freshman year. My dad and I watched the games together all season. Meeting up at rocky mtn when there were away games.

Unbeknownst to me he scored tickets for the final four so we flew down on a plane full of tech alumni.

We stayed at the team hotel and I still remember the river walk and yelling at the other teams sportingly.

Great time.


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[CuseJacket]

Elder was hurt for the championship game. Would have loved to have played with both teams healthy.

100% agree. And if a concession needs to be made, I wish we could have swapped timing of injuries.

 

[Gold1]

Planning on watch the Kansas and ok state games tmrw. Following that team was so much fun back in the day

 

[Peacone36]

BJ Elder:

 

[first&ten]

I graduated from Tech in 84 with an MSME degree. I was only at Tech for 12 months (by the way I was on assistance and it did not cost me anything to get my degree... things have changed a lot). I got hooked on GT Basketball after my first game which was a triple overtime win over 8th ranked Wake Forrest.

In 2004, I was working for a software company in Denver and when we made the final four, I thought that this was an event not to be missed. I went by myself, but the only way for me to get there was to fly to Houston and drive over to San Antonio. The main problem was that I needed to be back in Denver on Tuesday morning.

I bought a ticket for a lot of MONEY for both Saturday and Monday. My ticket was right next to the OK State section. I had a great view of the final shot by Bynum and I went nuts right next to the OK State section. You literally could have seen the Monday night final game for free. OK State was the only school within driving distance of San Antonio and the OK State fans threw their Monday night tickets on the ground as they were leaving the stadium.

I went to the rally at the GT hotel either on Sunday or Monday. I don't remember which day, but I do remember that Jarred Jack was coming through the crowd and we made direct eye contact. I am short (5'5") and he did not seem that tall to me. That was a lot of fun.

I missed not being in the GT section on Saturday, so I bought another ticket to sit in the GT section for Monday night's game. What was really cool about that was Chan Gailey was sitting a couple of seats away from me and I did not need or want to talk with him, but I listened to the conversations he was having with other people. He was very happy for GT basketball and what this meant for Georgia Tech. The final game, of course, was very frustrating as it seemed shot after shot rolled off the rim. The game went late. I think it ended at almost midnight. The problem for me was that I had a 6:00 AM flight out of Houston, which is a four hour drive away. So I drove back to Houston after the game and caught about an hour of sleep and I was in the office in Denver by 9:00 am thanks to the one hour difference in time zones. No one in the office could believe I was there just 10 hours earlier.

Speaking of the office, I picked GT to win the tourney in the office pool. In fact, I picked both GT and UCON to be in the final. Even with that I was second in my pool because someone else picked UCON to win. I think I still won $100 for second place.

Last week I was in my storage unit picking up some towels. I found my 2004 Final Four towels and have been using them this week so these are all very nice memories for me.

Thanks for reading.

Wow, that brings back memories! My son and I flew into Houston Monday rented a car and got to SA about 6 hrs. before the game. Our tix were in the Ucon section and their fans wondered why there wasn't more Tech fans there. Next morning got up early to beat it back to Houston in a terrible thunder storm feeling awful about the loss. Still that was a great trip to have with my son!

 

[coldbeer]

Any other thoughts on your experience that weekend? Would be fun to relive through others.

Who else made the trip?

I was there too. Incredible game and evening. Partying in the Riverwalk after the game was fun. I think we would have won the title if it was Duke (not UConn).

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[CuseJacket]

Bump

 

[augustabuzz]

Also Okafor was hurt in our game at MSG. Not so tournament time.

We had more injuries in San Antonio than they had at MSG.

 

[gt24]

Will Bynum. Iso. Ballgame. #TogetherWeSwarm

great GT memories aside, am i allowed to also add that listening to this clip reminds me how grateful i am that billy packer is finally gone.

 

[dtm1997]

great GT memories aside, am i allowed to also add that listening to this clip reminds me how grateful i am that billy packer is finally gone.

Billy Packer was such a miserable **** on the call. Just awful.

 

[GT1988]

Probably my favorite GT memory. This was my sophomore year of high school. My father (AE ‘76) and I went to the sweet 16 and elite 8 that year where Bynum made that circus layup against Nevada. Then we beat Kansas in OT in what was basically a home game for Kansas (game was in St. Louis).

I remember my dad gave me the choice that year to buy tickets to either the sweet 16/elite 8 or to the final four. Of course this was before we knew how far they would go so I opted for the sweet 16. It was awesome to watch them cut down the nets. Funny story, my little sister (two years younger) got a cell phone around this time and I was so mad because I hadn’t gotten mine until six or so months prior, so this was my parents way of keeping the peace. I’d say it was a good deal.

 

[awbuzz]

I loved the reverse layup Bynum hit late in the Nevada game

That is a classic!

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I was there. A young Tech grad who, along with his wife, had seats next to mine for the football games, drove out there (LONG DRIVE!!!). I honestly don't remember that much about the two games other than elation after the OSU game and bitter disappointment after the UConn game. Win or lose though, it was a great experience, and I have my ticket and a program, among other memorabilia, stashed away somewhere in my house. Those tickets must have been a helluva lot cheaper than what I saw was the cost of tickets in Indy this year. I don't think I could have afforded to go this year if fans had been allowed.

 

[dtm1997]

I was there. A young Tech grad who, along with his wife, had seats next to mine for the football games, drove out there (LONG DRIVE!!!). I honestly don't remember that much about the two games other than elation after the OSU game and bitter disappointment after the UConn game. Win or lose though, it was a great experience, and I have my ticket and a program, among other memorabilia, stashed away somewhere in my house. Those tickets must have been a helluva lot cheaper than what I saw was the cost of tickets in Indy this year. I don't think I could have afforded to go this year if fans had been allowed.

I was there also.

We went from having no idea how to make it happen on a Monday to a 3-hour scramble to put together plans by Tuesday afternoon.

Flew in to Houston, stayed in 3 different hotels in 4 nights, and got to experience Buc-ee's for the first time.

Great trip! Maui was better, but San Antonio was a great trip.

 

[Buzz78]

I was there. Had gone to the 1990 Final Four and witnessed the loss to UNLV in the first game. Following that loss we flew back to Atlanta. Went to SA with a friend from my school days at GT. We flew into Houston and made the drive to SA. stayed in a budget hotel on the outskirts of SA. What an exciting game and high with the ending. We debated whether to stay for the championship game on Monday night. Had work and family consideration, but decided to stay. I still feel we would have won it all had it been Duke and not UCONN. We had already beaten them in the ACC Tournament. After that season I thought we had made it and other final fours would be in our future, but we’ve struggled to make the dance since.

 

[4shotB]

After that season I thought we had made it and other final fours would be in our future, but we’ve struggled to make the dance since.

I was at the Citrus Bowl for the Nebraska game. I too thought that we would be in that position on a regular (not annual) basis. Boy, did I call that wrong. Tech, BYU and Uga are the 3 programs that have obtained the least leverage out of a natty in my lifetime. But, OTOH, most schools would love to have just one themselves. Glass half full approach.

 

[first&ten]

Wow, that brings back memories! My son and I flew into Houston Monday rented a car and got to SA about 6 hrs. before the game. Our tix were in the Ucon section and their fans wondered why there wasn't more Tech fans there. Next morning got up early to beat it back to Houston in a terrible thunder storm feeling awful about the loss. Still that was a great trip to have with my son!

Almost the exact expierence that my son and i had. We were in SA less than 24 hrs. Ucon fan said he was surprised there were so few Tech fans there. Setting on the tarmac in Houston wordering if we would even get off the ground in the storm.

 

[ramblinjacket]

I loved the reverse layup Bynum hit late in the Nevada game

My single most watched GT bucket of all time. Absolutely amazing.