Considering the way Monday night’s NCAA Men’s Championship game played out, historic futility and all, I guess you can’t say that I had one of those “Priceless” moments, but I came pretty darn close.  I was excited to have the Final Four in Houston and wanted to experience as much as I could work in around my job, little league games and so on.  Being a cheapskate, I also wanted to experience as much as I could for as little money as possible.

Here’s a rundown of my Final Four on the Cheap experience.

Thursday’s State Farm College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships
I hadn’t really considered going down to Hofheinz Pavilion for this event until my wife called and said that there was one of those daily deal emails that was offering half price tickets.  Hey, it’s part of the Experience, my 10 year old daughter and six year old son, both recently finishing their basketball seasons, would have fun and it’s half price.  So we went and had a great time.  The kids left with several autographs, they got their picture taken with YouTube sensation Jacob Tucker, winner of the Slam Dunk Contest

 

This is what you can do with a 45" vertical leap.

and my daughter even got to hold the Women’s 3-Point Championship trophy won by Cerie Mosgrove of Massachusetts.

Cost: $17.50 for tickets + $12.25 for drinks and popcorn.  Well worth the $29.75.

 

NCAA Final Four Friday (Team Practices & Reese’s College All-Star Game)
This was something I definitely wanted to go check out.  After all, tickets were free.  Even more remarkable, so was parking at Reliant Stadium.

On Friday the NCAA opened up all of the teams’ workouts to fans.  Each team took the floor for about an hour and that evening there was an All Star game featuring top seniors from around the country.  My plan was to head down there during lunch, hang out for awhile and go back to work.  But my Experience received a major upgrade earlier in the week when I happened to get through to Charlie Pallilo’s show on 790AM KBME during a trivia contest. The first two guys missed their questions, the next one disappeared and I was next.  I correctly answered (within the +/- 1 tolerance) the question, “How many titles has Kentucky won?” and was the winner of two tickets for the day’s events in a courtside VIP area,  passes to a hospitality area where we were served some pretty good barbecue (all-u-can-eat might I add) and the chance to hear Clemson head coach Brad Brownell give a little chalk talk and Q&A.  So I went down there with a friend and we had a blast during a longer than normal lunch.

Cost: $10 for a Final Four program

NCAA Men’s Championship Game
I wasn’t sure whether or not to be excited or disappointed for the city of Houston to host the first Final Four without a No. 1 or 2 seed.  I leaned toward disappointed because it would have been great to have three or four powerhouse programs in town,  but part of the greatness of this event is the whole underdog story.  You want underdogs?  We had two in VCU and Butler. I did not attend either game on Saturday and did not have a ticket for the Championship.  It wasn’t until Monday that I decided to continue my Final Four on the Cheap mission and try to make it to the game as inexpensively as possible.  This is where the Experience became lots of fun.

After work I headed downtown to park and take the train to Reliant Stadium.  No way was I going to part with $35 just to park at the stadium.  Well, after 6PM all metered parking spaces downtown are free.  I parked at 6:15.  Then I hit McDonald’s and had dinner for $3.86.  A few minutes later I was on the train headed to the stadium with a $2.50 roundtrip ticket.  Once at the stadium I started working the incoming fans and, um, “ticket professionals” for a ticket for the first sporting event I’ve ever attended by myself.  I start a little after 7PM (tipoff is promptly at 8:23) and at 7:45 I score a ticket for $20.  Not a great one, but I’m in.

Does this qualify as nosebleed?

My only remaining purchase is a souvenir drink.  $5.75 later, plus a little walking to find a concession stand that actually had cups in stock and I have a drink and souvenir.

While the game may not have been so great, the atmosphere was and I was thrilled to soak it all in.  I stayed til the end, watched UCONN cut down the nets and left after One Shining Moment concluded.  It was truly an awesome Experience.

Cost: $3.86 for dinner + $2.50 for transportation + $20 for a ticket and $5.75 for a drink.  Total for the Championship Game Experience: $32.11.

By the time the Championship Game was over I had attended several events and had a great time at each.  I’m looking forward to 2016 when the Final Four returns to Houston and I’m either doing on the cheap again or going all out.

Total cost of my Final Four on the Cheap Experience: $71.86.

Want to share your professional experiences and business expertise with other Aggies?  Hullabalog welcomes and relies on guest bloggers.  Drop me a note at msnyder91@hullabalog.com if you’d like to contribute some content. Once or frequently, it’s up to you.


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