My weekend in Houston

The Final Four wasn’t in Big D, but Houston sure was a big disappointment.
After 16 hours on the road, four tanks of gas, two hotel rooms, and one great barbecue dinner, we finally made it to Reliant Stadium, a cavernous building constructed to house Texas football. But for one weekend, it was filled with the passion of Kentucky basketball.
There was a massive banner outside that read “The road ends here.” It turned out to be prophetic.
Kentucky fans easily had the most non-neutral fans of any team in Houston. VCU was the happiest to be there, but no one had higher hopes than the Big Blue Nation.
From the struggle of the first half to the inspiring comeback to the deflating final few minutes, the game felt just like the season. There was promise, doubt, disappointment, redemption and more. And it still wasn’t enough.
My father hung his head as we walked out of the stadium. His all-time record as a spectator watching the Wildcats in the postseason fell to 0-6, dating back to his days in the band as an undergrad. My uncle, who got hold of the tickets months ago with high hopes, had seen Kentucky win two national championships in person. His Final Four record fell to 2-1.
Trying to comfort my father, uncle and cousin by reminding them that we just got to watch a pair of incredibly good college basketball games played at the highest level was little consolation. They were in Houston for one reason – a national championship. As they left, they sold the tickets to the dreams – the title game on Monday – for $20 each. They’d rather have the Jackson than keep the ticket as a painful souvenir of what might have been.
If the drive to Houston was long, the return trip on Sunday seemed infinite. Texas plains stretched into Arkansas prairies and the banks of the Mississippi and the hills of Tennessee and finally, the home stretch of Kentucky bluegrass. After such a long season, Brandon Knight and Co. weren’t the only ones who were exhausted. We were ready to be home.
But there was still a lot of good to be considered. A Kentucky team that was supposed to be in an ‘in-between’ year had fought its way to the Final Four, and done it with personality and guts. There were plenty of memories, like Jorts and the myth of Enes and the growth of Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins. There were 3-goggles, star freshmen, Kentucky records and another conference championship.
But to too many, it was still just short of their hopes. Next time my dad goes to a tournament game, he’s going to make sure it’ll be a 1-16 seed matchup. He’s not taking any chances on falling to 0-7.