It was never a surprise that Indianapolis and San Antonio were chosen to host this year’s NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments, including the Final Fours that start today and end Monday.
From 1982 through 2011, your trusty correspondent covered every men’s NCAA Tournament from the first round to the championship game.
The Final Four was held in 13 different cities during that span, and in my opinion the two best were Indianapolis and San Antonio.
New Orleans was a close third, but mostly because of the food.
Indianapolis and San Antonio are cities with dozens of hotels within walking distance of their arenas, and there were lots of places to eat.
Being shuttled to the games was a pain in the behind, especially on the night of the championship game.
All week the shuttle drivers had been told to always return to the hotel after dropping off reporters and photographers and picking up those riding back to the hotel, which was fine until the final night.
All the working media were at the game by tip-off. When the game was over, the shuttle buses were at the hotel.
When it is spitting snow in Detroit, or cold winds are whipping through Atlanta, that gets aggravating.
This year, if the media were housed where they have been in the past in Indianapolis and San Antonio, it wouldn’t be an issue — everyone could walk to and from the games.