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Lot's of good stuff from this trip. Probably sans the great comeback, more enjoyable than Springfield.
-Another easy drive with lots of decent pit stop opportunities along the way. A little over five hours to Des Moines. I tried both routes, thru KC and around via 152 and 435 and I think the latter was a little faster.
-Decided to stay at the Casino Resort about 45 minutes south in Osceola. Throw the stuff in the room, donate some money and then head to Des Moines. Also cut time off the trip back home today which was nice. I did hit a $260.00 payout last night which was an added bonus.
-Jethro's BBQ is famous for the Man vs. Food Challenge which Food won. You can go big or go small just like a basketball lineup but you shouldn't go away hungry. The one west of town is nicer and less crowded than the one near campus.
-The Knapp Center while cozy and more of a gymnasium than an arena still is a tough place to play primarily because the rims are soft, the goals are not the tough depth perception challenge of a large arena, and Drake builds their teams around those facts. You pretty much have to be able to play their game to win there and we did that and then some. I don't know why but I like that gym.
-Don't buy tickets in the lower rows of the corner sections across from the benches. The diagram is almost fraudulently deceptive. You can't see. I ended up moving to GA with my Shocker Nation travel partners.
-The fans were extremely nice save for the drunken buffoonery known as the student section (and really there was only about a 100 of those douche nozzles). I think Ron and Cle look forward to the banter with the students as much as the game sometimes, which is okay because it doesn't seem to bother their concentration. I had seven or eight Drake fans totally complimentary say to us that we want what you have. They were slobbering (figuratively) with envy.
-Again, I am a bad estimator of our crowd but I would guess 800-1000 would be fair. Scattered all over, it was hard to tell. With all three of our assistants from Iowa, we had many Iowans a part of Shocker Nation last night. The players and the coaches really appreciate it when we travel with the team.
-The crowd was good, not great, for them. Still empty seats in a place that doesn't hold that many in the first place is not excusable. The weather was fine, no reason not to have SRO in attendance.
-Coach G may have another rough season or two before he gets it turned around, but I think they will be a upper division team sooner than later. He plays a west coast, quick shot style but he has to raise the bar with the physicality and strength of the guys he is recruiting. A couple of those dudes reminded me of the kid in Sixteen Candles.
All in all a great trip. Be forewarned, if you are thinking about going to Cedar Falls in two weeks, get your tickets now on StubHub. There aren't many left.
-Another easy drive with lots of decent pit stop opportunities along the way. A little over five hours to Des Moines. I tried both routes, thru KC and around via 152 and 435 and I think the latter was a little faster.
-Decided to stay at the Casino Resort about 45 minutes south in Osceola. Throw the stuff in the room, donate some money and then head to Des Moines. Also cut time off the trip back home today which was nice. I did hit a $260.00 payout last night which was an added bonus.
-Jethro's BBQ is famous for the Man vs. Food Challenge which Food won. You can go big or go small just like a basketball lineup but you shouldn't go away hungry. The one west of town is nicer and less crowded than the one near campus.
-The Knapp Center while cozy and more of a gymnasium than an arena still is a tough place to play primarily because the rims are soft, the goals are not the tough depth perception challenge of a large arena, and Drake builds their teams around those facts. You pretty much have to be able to play their game to win there and we did that and then some. I don't know why but I like that gym.
-Don't buy tickets in the lower rows of the corner sections across from the benches. The diagram is almost fraudulently deceptive. You can't see. I ended up moving to GA with my Shocker Nation travel partners.
-The fans were extremely nice save for the drunken buffoonery known as the student section (and really there was only about a 100 of those douche nozzles). I think Ron and Cle look forward to the banter with the students as much as the game sometimes, which is okay because it doesn't seem to bother their concentration. I had seven or eight Drake fans totally complimentary say to us that we want what you have. They were slobbering (figuratively) with envy.
-Again, I am a bad estimator of our crowd but I would guess 800-1000 would be fair. Scattered all over, it was hard to tell. With all three of our assistants from Iowa, we had many Iowans a part of Shocker Nation last night. The players and the coaches really appreciate it when we travel with the team.
-The crowd was good, not great, for them. Still empty seats in a place that doesn't hold that many in the first place is not excusable. The weather was fine, no reason not to have SRO in attendance.
-Coach G may have another rough season or two before he gets it turned around, but I think they will be a upper division team sooner than later. He plays a west coast, quick shot style but he has to raise the bar with the physicality and strength of the guys he is recruiting. A couple of those dudes reminded me of the kid in Sixteen Candles.
All in all a great trip. Be forewarned, if you are thinking about going to Cedar Falls in two weeks, get your tickets now on StubHub. There aren't many left.
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