LittleBrave
Well-known member
Didn't know what to expect being my 1st ever Arch Madness experience.
I would do it again, but there is a cost (literally in the price of the weekend, and figuratively with the height of emotions of being there).
Here are a few things I noticed/experienced from Friday/Sat. in St. Lou:
1) Being with BU fans makes watching the games SO GREAT! By FAR the biggest and best fanbase that you just don't notice on CBS (to such a degree)
Having fellow fans around you when other games are being played is so cool, and probably the part I "enjoyed" most. Some fanbases (Valpo, UIC) appear to have a disdain for Bradley, but likely b/c we have been so good for 7-8 years and they aspire to do the same with a taste of recent success.
2) The entertainment between action is very annoying especially when your team is in the midst of a tense game. I can do without the singalongs, bongo cam, 6 questions, etc.
I was ok with the Q/A that were pre-recorded outside of the main arena. That dude just got on my nerves toward the end of our game - couldn't care less about favorite ice cream flavors when my team is making a comeback with under 4 minutes left! Don't need to be constantly entertained - it's too much.
Actually a big drawback for me that I would consider staying home and watching commercials instead. Didn't expect this.
3) It is TOUGH when your team loses. On my drive to St. Lou I had the mentality that I don't care what happens - would be nice to win the 1st game but I'm just going to enjoy myself. Well, THAT Didn't happen! I was ELATED to have won the 2OT game vs Valpo, but it was not a FUN game to sit through. The nerves were super-high throughout and needed an hour to unwind after.
The 2nd game was almost as tense and after the opening tip, I NEEDED another Bradley win. I didn't come all the way from Chicago to see the Braves fall short of the title game! The near 5-hr drive by myself back home after the BU loss was painful for the 1st hour until stopping for dinner.
It was a feeling I wanted to avoid on Sunday had we made it that far only to lose. In summary, I think since you are immersed in the games in person, you experience the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, at least 2x more.
One more thing - I really like the city of St. Lou, but there is only so much you can do outside of the games, which is ok. I'll have to hit the aquarium next time - I walked to the Arch, which is always amazing. But most of the city feels deserted as you walk around, especially on an overcast day. With that said, still a great place for the MVC basketball tourney!
Great hangin' with you all this past weekend! Let's DO the LOU next year!
(p.s. I will need a mental-health therapist before and after!)
I would do it again, but there is a cost (literally in the price of the weekend, and figuratively with the height of emotions of being there).
Here are a few things I noticed/experienced from Friday/Sat. in St. Lou:
1) Being with BU fans makes watching the games SO GREAT! By FAR the biggest and best fanbase that you just don't notice on CBS (to such a degree)
Having fellow fans around you when other games are being played is so cool, and probably the part I "enjoyed" most. Some fanbases (Valpo, UIC) appear to have a disdain for Bradley, but likely b/c we have been so good for 7-8 years and they aspire to do the same with a taste of recent success.
2) The entertainment between action is very annoying especially when your team is in the midst of a tense game. I can do without the singalongs, bongo cam, 6 questions, etc.
I was ok with the Q/A that were pre-recorded outside of the main arena. That dude just got on my nerves toward the end of our game - couldn't care less about favorite ice cream flavors when my team is making a comeback with under 4 minutes left! Don't need to be constantly entertained - it's too much.
Actually a big drawback for me that I would consider staying home and watching commercials instead. Didn't expect this.
3) It is TOUGH when your team loses. On my drive to St. Lou I had the mentality that I don't care what happens - would be nice to win the 1st game but I'm just going to enjoy myself. Well, THAT Didn't happen! I was ELATED to have won the 2OT game vs Valpo, but it was not a FUN game to sit through. The nerves were super-high throughout and needed an hour to unwind after.
The 2nd game was almost as tense and after the opening tip, I NEEDED another Bradley win. I didn't come all the way from Chicago to see the Braves fall short of the title game! The near 5-hr drive by myself back home after the BU loss was painful for the 1st hour until stopping for dinner.
It was a feeling I wanted to avoid on Sunday had we made it that far only to lose. In summary, I think since you are immersed in the games in person, you experience the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, at least 2x more.
One more thing - I really like the city of St. Lou, but there is only so much you can do outside of the games, which is ok. I'll have to hit the aquarium next time - I walked to the Arch, which is always amazing. But most of the city feels deserted as you walk around, especially on an overcast day. With that said, still a great place for the MVC basketball tourney!
Great hangin' with you all this past weekend! Let's DO the LOU next year!
(p.s. I will need a mental-health therapist before and after!)
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) unless you never have a chance to visit a better one. We took our grandkids Saturday, and it was a bit of a let-down. Since it is constructed in an ancient train station, there is limited space and inadequate structure there to build a bigger and higher quality aquarium. Most of the displays were just graphics, video presentations, and a few interactive displays. And, the tanks that housed the small collection of aquatic animals were small and hard to see much because people crowded around the small viewing windows. Nearly all the tanks focused on freshwater species, and the one big salt water tank had only a relatively small number of fish that did include a couple small shark species, and we saw one big grouper. But, there were no ocean mammals such as dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, walruses, etc. and a limited number of ocean fish species. The kids had fun with the touch-tanks with sting rays and jellyfish, but I have been to several other aquariums around the country and this one does not compare to any others I have visited.
