Alternate titles: Scenes from a Mauling or The Mardi Gras Massacre
My first reaction to The Orleans was “What a dump”, but by the end of the weekend I had decided that it was just about the perfect place for us. The casinos on the strip are much nicer but also much more expensive, ie $10 minimum bets (and good luck finding a spot at those tables). The Orleans is off the strip, but not too far, and unlike the casinos in old downtown this one has a high ceiling and a relatively good ventilation system. And it’s the only place close to the strip that has $5 minimum tables except maybe the Excalibur (which I didn’t go to).
The only thing I can say was poor was the service; the Special Ladies don’t come around the tables nearly often enough. In some ways that’s a good thing on game days because it acts as a natural throttle, preventing you from being “that guy” at the games. I think the staff was overwhelmed; many of them acted as if they hadn’t seen crowds like this before. If you’re not gambling the service isn’t an issue. Just get a bucket of beers for $6.25 and you’re set.
Sunday’s game looked like a sellout and other than the 20 or so Rough Riders it was all GU. By the middle of the second half it was more “Rough Rider”, as the rest of them had already headed to the casino.
The game was a jaw dropper. The team that showed up Saturday was the team that we’d been expecting to see all year. It was just wave after wave of Zags. And btw, while I totally respect what Bryant’s done since he was a freshman, there’s just no way that he’s the MVP. Against the top two teams in the league Santa Clara went 1-4, and although he got a double-double against us on Saturday over half of that was in Up By Time (Up by twenty! Up by thirty!). Give the guy a Subway commercial with Jared, not the MVP of the league.
After Sunday’s game I knew that if the same team showed up on Monday SMC had no prayer.
On Monday we went to our usual pre-game location (the Mardi Gras bar, right off the sports book in the Orleans) only to discover that it had been commandeered by St Mary’s. Then, while we were playing three card poker (easy game btw: you bet $15, the dealers turns his cards over and then he takes your money), two St Mary’s guys walked by and said “Good luck with your at-large bid”.
It was on now!
I was the first of my crew to get to the arena, and when I walked in I sent a one-word txt messages to two of my buddies: “Libbey”. We did an informal poll at our seats as to who would get the first technical, and the consensus was that it would be Daye. Little did we realize that Libbey knew this was a big game too, so hey, I’ll do you one better and T someone up before the opening tip! The fact that it was Omar Man Hands made me ok with it though.
I went back and read the game thread for the SMC game and I have to ask: were you guys watching the same game as we were? This game was over 5min in, and the only way we could’ve humiliated St Mary’s any more was if we took their dance team, threw them over our shoulders and took them back to Spokane with us.
(If there’s any way to pull that off count me in btw. As they were walking through the casino two guys walked by and one turned to the other and said “Is that for real?”. I think the knee-high white leather go-go boots were my favorite outfit, followed closely by the spandex hot pants and sports bras. There has to be an option to contribute to the St Mary’s Dance Team Kidnapping Fund as part of the General Fund drive. We can make this happen. The funny thing is that they didn’t really do anything. They moved back and forth and didn’t contribute much if anything to the proceedings...just like Man Hands. I’m going to change my ticket location next year just to sit closer to them.)
After the game, Bong Krosby, SteelCityZag, gueastcoast, YouJeanZag, Mr & Mrs ZigZagger and myself raced back to the Mardi Gras bar and took our normal seats. The buckets of beers started flowing two at a time, and when we’d see the occasional SMC fan stroll by we’d just yell “THIS. IS. OUR. BAR”.
Regarding Patty Mills. Yes, he’s a great talent, but I couldn’t understand how a guy going off on us for a half (going in the locker room up only 6 btw) warranted the amount of trepidation everyone had facing him again. Getting torched for a half is practically our calling card, and he was being rushed back from an injury. One last thing on Patty. He’s really quick, but he’s also really small, and he was getting bounced around like a pinball. Watching him in person I wonder about his long-term durability.
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There was no question that this weekend The Orleans was transformed into Gonzaga Country. The place was packed with GU people the entire time with the one SMC exception, and Sunday night after the game the tables were packed full of Zags until well past 2am. The crowds at the games were much more like a normal March Madness crowd than a Kennel crowd, and I mean that in a good way. In Spokane, the non-Kennel side of the arena is much more low-key, but at these games everyone everywhere was going crazy.
The arena itself has very comfortable seats and is just the right size. The only “bad” seats were on the baseline where they had temporary seating set up, but bad is pretty subjective as even those seats were close to the action. The scoreboard that everyone has been complaining about is kinda lame, but there’s a board around the top of the bowl that flashes everyone’s points & fouls, so it was good enough imo. I can’t see them changing it unless the WCC and WAC gang up and demand it.
The non- Gonzaga fan turnout was abysmal. Throughout the weekend we’d see a few people from other schools passing through, but for the most part it was just us. Saw a fair number of UP people on Sunday and a few Santa Clara fans; I don’t remember seeing even one USF fan the entire weekend. The non-GU games were about 20% full. This is a neutral site, and the team the farthest away had by far the most fans. There’s really no excuse for the lack of turnout by the other schools. It’s what - an hour flight from the bay area? As a fan I’d love to make this the permanent location because it’s neutral, and I’d actually like to see fans from the other schools. But if I were an AD or president of the WCC I’d fight hard to get out of Las Vegas as soon as possible. Unless they can basically cheat and host the tournament at their school in the hope they can luck their way into the tournament, they’re going to be hard-pressed to win until we stop coming.
---
Regarding the team, if you can forget about the journey for a moment consider this: we were a preason 10/11 and this week we’re a 12. We’re basically were we should be. We all know our weaknesses, but what team doesn’t have weaknesses? This is one of the more wide-open fields in years, probably since the UCLA debacle. I stand by the prediction I made before I even saw a game in Vegas: we can out-talent our way to the Sweet 16, and after that it’s about matchups and more than a little luck.
If the team that showed up in Vegas shows up in the tournament we’re going to be very, very difficult to beat. And that’s all we could’ve asked for.
My first reaction to The Orleans was “What a dump”, but by the end of the weekend I had decided that it was just about the perfect place for us. The casinos on the strip are much nicer but also much more expensive, ie $10 minimum bets (and good luck finding a spot at those tables). The Orleans is off the strip, but not too far, and unlike the casinos in old downtown this one has a high ceiling and a relatively good ventilation system. And it’s the only place close to the strip that has $5 minimum tables except maybe the Excalibur (which I didn’t go to).
The only thing I can say was poor was the service; the Special Ladies don’t come around the tables nearly often enough. In some ways that’s a good thing on game days because it acts as a natural throttle, preventing you from being “that guy” at the games. I think the staff was overwhelmed; many of them acted as if they hadn’t seen crowds like this before. If you’re not gambling the service isn’t an issue. Just get a bucket of beers for $6.25 and you’re set.
Sunday’s game looked like a sellout and other than the 20 or so Rough Riders it was all GU. By the middle of the second half it was more “Rough Rider”, as the rest of them had already headed to the casino.
The game was a jaw dropper. The team that showed up Saturday was the team that we’d been expecting to see all year. It was just wave after wave of Zags. And btw, while I totally respect what Bryant’s done since he was a freshman, there’s just no way that he’s the MVP. Against the top two teams in the league Santa Clara went 1-4, and although he got a double-double against us on Saturday over half of that was in Up By Time (Up by twenty! Up by thirty!). Give the guy a Subway commercial with Jared, not the MVP of the league.
After Sunday’s game I knew that if the same team showed up on Monday SMC had no prayer.
On Monday we went to our usual pre-game location (the Mardi Gras bar, right off the sports book in the Orleans) only to discover that it had been commandeered by St Mary’s. Then, while we were playing three card poker (easy game btw: you bet $15, the dealers turns his cards over and then he takes your money), two St Mary’s guys walked by and said “Good luck with your at-large bid”.
It was on now!
I was the first of my crew to get to the arena, and when I walked in I sent a one-word txt messages to two of my buddies: “Libbey”. We did an informal poll at our seats as to who would get the first technical, and the consensus was that it would be Daye. Little did we realize that Libbey knew this was a big game too, so hey, I’ll do you one better and T someone up before the opening tip! The fact that it was Omar Man Hands made me ok with it though.
I went back and read the game thread for the SMC game and I have to ask: were you guys watching the same game as we were? This game was over 5min in, and the only way we could’ve humiliated St Mary’s any more was if we took their dance team, threw them over our shoulders and took them back to Spokane with us.
(If there’s any way to pull that off count me in btw. As they were walking through the casino two guys walked by and one turned to the other and said “Is that for real?”. I think the knee-high white leather go-go boots were my favorite outfit, followed closely by the spandex hot pants and sports bras. There has to be an option to contribute to the St Mary’s Dance Team Kidnapping Fund as part of the General Fund drive. We can make this happen. The funny thing is that they didn’t really do anything. They moved back and forth and didn’t contribute much if anything to the proceedings...just like Man Hands. I’m going to change my ticket location next year just to sit closer to them.)
After the game, Bong Krosby, SteelCityZag, gueastcoast, YouJeanZag, Mr & Mrs ZigZagger and myself raced back to the Mardi Gras bar and took our normal seats. The buckets of beers started flowing two at a time, and when we’d see the occasional SMC fan stroll by we’d just yell “THIS. IS. OUR. BAR”.
Regarding Patty Mills. Yes, he’s a great talent, but I couldn’t understand how a guy going off on us for a half (going in the locker room up only 6 btw) warranted the amount of trepidation everyone had facing him again. Getting torched for a half is practically our calling card, and he was being rushed back from an injury. One last thing on Patty. He’s really quick, but he’s also really small, and he was getting bounced around like a pinball. Watching him in person I wonder about his long-term durability.
---
There was no question that this weekend The Orleans was transformed into Gonzaga Country. The place was packed with GU people the entire time with the one SMC exception, and Sunday night after the game the tables were packed full of Zags until well past 2am. The crowds at the games were much more like a normal March Madness crowd than a Kennel crowd, and I mean that in a good way. In Spokane, the non-Kennel side of the arena is much more low-key, but at these games everyone everywhere was going crazy.
The arena itself has very comfortable seats and is just the right size. The only “bad” seats were on the baseline where they had temporary seating set up, but bad is pretty subjective as even those seats were close to the action. The scoreboard that everyone has been complaining about is kinda lame, but there’s a board around the top of the bowl that flashes everyone’s points & fouls, so it was good enough imo. I can’t see them changing it unless the WCC and WAC gang up and demand it.
The non- Gonzaga fan turnout was abysmal. Throughout the weekend we’d see a few people from other schools passing through, but for the most part it was just us. Saw a fair number of UP people on Sunday and a few Santa Clara fans; I don’t remember seeing even one USF fan the entire weekend. The non-GU games were about 20% full. This is a neutral site, and the team the farthest away had by far the most fans. There’s really no excuse for the lack of turnout by the other schools. It’s what - an hour flight from the bay area? As a fan I’d love to make this the permanent location because it’s neutral, and I’d actually like to see fans from the other schools. But if I were an AD or president of the WCC I’d fight hard to get out of Las Vegas as soon as possible. Unless they can basically cheat and host the tournament at their school in the hope they can luck their way into the tournament, they’re going to be hard-pressed to win until we stop coming.
---
Regarding the team, if you can forget about the journey for a moment consider this: we were a preason 10/11 and this week we’re a 12. We’re basically were we should be. We all know our weaknesses, but what team doesn’t have weaknesses? This is one of the more wide-open fields in years, probably since the UCLA debacle. I stand by the prediction I made before I even saw a game in Vegas: we can out-talent our way to the Sweet 16, and after that it’s about matchups and more than a little luck.
If the team that showed up in Vegas shows up in the tournament we’re going to be very, very difficult to beat. And that’s all we could’ve asked for.
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