PERSPECTIVE: The View From Row P In Pittsburgh

Andrew Hass has covered the Boston University men’s basketball team throughout the season as a beat reporter, but was in the stands for Friday’s NCAA Tournament game.

Two cars, seven guys and 1,200 miles in three days: the ultimate college road trip.

When we heard the Boston University men’s basketball team was playing its first-round game of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh, it was a no-brainer — we had to go.

Never mind class. Never mind expenses. Never mind the exhaustion that would set in upon our return.

Who cares that No. 16 seeded BU would have no chance against No. 1 Cincinnati?

We had to root on the team we had cheered for all year in the postseason. This was our Super Bowl. This was our game seven. We had to show our school spirit on a national scale.

Preparations were made, and by Thursday, we were ready to go. We had our tickets, which at $50-a-pop weren’t cheap, but were a pittance in order to watch our school play in the NCAA Tournament up close and personal.

After a stop in New Jersey on Thursday night, Friday was a day of anticipation. Not only did we have a long drive ahead of us, but we had to wait all until 7:40 p.m. for the game. With our car fully decorated with “Pittsburgh or Bust” and “Go BU” signs, the trek to the Mellon Arena started on at 11:30 a.m.

The rolling hills passing us by made for inspired discussions about pop culture, and with long tunnels through the mountains, the six-hour drive on the never-ending Pennsylvania Turnpike went by quickly.

But then we hit traffic. And not bumper-to-bumper traffic; this was two-miles-in-45-minutes traffic. Imagine our shock when we recognized the people in the three cars ahead of us as BU fans. After talking with them for a little while and after a quick bathroom break on the side of the road, traffic started to move, and we were soon in the clear.

We arrived to Pittsburgh on schedule, but our search for dinner failed. Every place we went to was either too crowded or full of loudmouthed Cincinnati fans.

We decided to wait outside the arena, which was hopping in anticipation for the two night games. Scalpers were everywhere, wanting top-dollar for the marquee event. Doors opened at 6:20 p.m. with a rush of people trying to be first inside. Our seats were in the lower section of the Igloo in row P with the rest of the BU faithful. The color red was everywhere in the BU section; some fans had painted their entire bodies, while others mostly wore red BU shirts.

It seemed the game was secondary to the experience. Things got out of hand early, as BU scored only two points more than eight minutes into the contest. But that didn’t bother the 50 or so students that were in attendance. It was a group of diehard fanatics — mostly familiar faces — ready to cheer a BU team that had the impossible task of trying to knock off a No. 1 seed.

While BU fans were in awe of Cincinnati’s dominating performance, some got antsy as the game progressed. Who will ever forget the security guards having to tell fans to put their shirts on “the right way” so that their stomachs were not exposed? Or chants for CBS sideline reporter Lesley Visser to “take off her top”?

While Cincinnati guard Steve Logan outscored the entire BU team in the first half, it prompted the entire arena to boo every time the All-American touched the ball in the second frame. Most neutral fans must have seen having him in the game when the outcome was already decided as an insult to BU’s pride.

But those same fans were entertained by BU senior Ignacio Rodriguez, who drew cheers whenever he handled the ball. Perhaps his novelty nickname of “Nacho” had something to do with it.

The final score did not indicate the enthusiasm of the BU cheering section. Nor did it disappoint many of the fans. It would have been nice to win, but nobody was expecting it. And while some people stayed to watch the nightcap of UCLA-Mississippi, others left to ponder what could have been.

The drive home the next day was enjoyable even in defeat. We had the naps, the tunes and the schoolwork to keep us occupied for all nine hours.

There was something special about seeing a decaying Ramada Inn sign from the 1970s along a one-lane road in the Pennsylvania farmland. Yet, at the same time, on that same road, the Hooters sign a mile later was far more intriguing.

Half the fun of a road trip is the drive. The other half is enjoying the destination.

Whether it was the fast food, the license plate game for cash, or the numerous unmentionable bodily functions, driving to watch your school play in a big game is special. It’s something every fan should try to do at least once while in college.

So a basketball game, one speeding ticket and five tanks of gas later, we were greeted by familiar surroundings: almost being run off the road by a Boston taxi and nearly hitting a girl jaywalking on Beacon Street.

But hey, it’s good to be home.