Continue reading »]]> Dear Philadelphia,

You might have noticed the big event down at the Wachovia Center over the weekend called the NCAA tournament. Its kind of a big deal in most places around the country, and not just because Villanova is involved. Its a big deal because it is one of the purest competitions left in all of american sports, and because it is one of the most dramatic. It is such a great event that we flock to it every spring at a different location. Choosing the location hasn’t been scientific, it has been based largely on being able to get tickets and drive there in a day. I guess in the future we are going to have to put a little more thought into it. This year we came to Philadelphia to drop a little coin on junk food, beer, hoops, and whatever cheap crap looked like it would be fun to take home with us. We expected to be at our best venue yet, in a top american city, where people loved the above mentioned items as much as we did. Instead we ended up in Chudsville where beer was as scarce as hot looking women and parking spaces.

Let me just say that if you are going to charge $21 in tolls just to get to your city you ought to put something there that might be worth looking at. And if you aren’t going to put anything worthwhile in your town then at least have a handful of places where people can go and get drunk so they don’t have to deal with the reality of living in such a place. I honestly don’t know how people even hook up in that town without booze. I’ve never seen so many greasy mookes and lot lizards in all my life. Harry d-bags with gold chains and dull expressions walking around a dingy burgh full of wig shops, free clinics, and tagged vacants trying to find one decent looking woman to yell obcenities at appears to be your social scene. By the way we found the one decent looking woman in Philadelphia but we are going to keep her identity secret so that she doesn’t have to deal with you mopes.

Have you guys ever heard of Jimmy John’s or Tubby’s? Both make an excellent sub (not a hoagie) both have short waits, ample parking, sanitary kitchens, reasonable prices, and people working there that don’t have Hep C and chud manners. Pat’s and Genno’s offer nothing that I want to eat ever again. Keep your gut bomb sandwiches, 45 minute lines, broken english ordering systems, and sleaze ball smoking cooks. We couldn’t even get back to the hotel before Chet was doubled over. I ordered two and ate one. That was one wit by the way whatever the hell that means. I’m not sure why you would even need a code. You should just go up there and order up a big roll of hot garbage because no matter what that is what you get. In regards to “crab fries,” putting old bay on french fries doesn’t make them seafood. 

Needless to say you have failed to impress or satisfy myself and my fellow trip members with your food, drink, or city. Your knowledge of sports was the one thing I thought you had no matter what. Once again you were given too much credit. The Wachovia is how many years old? and its already a dank hole. The sticky floor was intolerable enough but having to get up during play so another skell in a Phillies world series shirt could squeeze by after their third water ice of the game was as annoying as your accents. Just because Villanova isn’t on the court doesn’t mean basic etiquette doesn’t apply. Try and get in your seats before play resumes so you don’t disturb other fans, and while you’re at it maybe stick around for one of the other games in the session. Very few people stayed for a complete game not involving Nova and Jay Wright’s pimp suits.

We have fun where ever we go, and we had a good time on this trip but it was in spite of Philly. Your reputation for being sleazy jerks is well deserved and we aren’t coming back there unless the hurst takes a wrong turn. I think I speak for the entire trip when I say….Next time bring your sister ya hump!

Sincerely,

The Trip

Continue reading »]]> Check out the right side colum for a list of our tourney sites, and a new update about our trip from this last weekend. Or, you can just click here.

Working on headed to Glendale, AZ this weekend for a probable UConn vs Memphis game, which should hold me over until the following weekend, and my flight to Detroit.

Looking forward to watching Michigan State later this week. Goran Suton is putting on his game face.

Continue reading »]]> I was never good at many sports, but I instantly recognized the importance of competition at an early age. An avid collector of basketball cards, and a purveyor of the ’7 year old one handed jump and throw towards an impossibly tall basket’ jump shot, basketball was easily my most favorite sport. Growing up in a small city in Michigan I was naturally drawn (or forced, as pictures of me in U of M clothing represent) to the popular hometown teams. My passion found me sneaking out of bed at 11:00 at night to find the living room empty and the TV all mine. Seeing that I lived with my divorced mother, finding a basketball game on the only television in the house was impossible. The exception to this was when the world was asleep, and the Bad Boys went into battle 3 timezones away. I huddled under a blanket 3 inches away from the television, absorbing the glow of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Lambier as they slayed the evil Lakers from somewhere across the uncrossable country. In defeat I learned of the ‘Magic’ that Ervin Johnson displayed, his links to what would become my favorite in-state university, and the Lakers Dynasty.

Hindsight allows me to realize that my mother had to know what I was upto. It was not until Vinny Johnson hit a simple 14 foot jump shot in 1990 that my secret came to the forefront. By some stroke of fate my deeds went unpunished.

Passion cannot be forsaken.

Since those early years my love for the game has evolved to a form not recognized by many people. While I still enjoy the NBA and the Detroit Pistons, I find the purest form of the sport resides at a lower level of overall talent. It resides where the game does not cash a check or endorse a sneaker. Yes, College Basketball in many forms is as corrupt as its big brother. It has evolved into a developmental league, players often staying one or two years before they are off to bigger and better paydays in the NBA. Players like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Amare Stoudamire show that kids are ready sooner, and achieve greatness at a younger age than ever before. However, the sport reaches purity found no where else when you look past the Dukes and North Carolina’s, and into the hundreds of schools at the mid to low major level.

Stephen Curry was 5 foot nothing as a Junior in high school. His jump shot can melt butter and make your own mother cry, yet he was passed up by several big time schools, always looking for the next Kevin Durrant or Greg Oden. Given a chance at a small private school in North Carolina, as a sophomore in college, Curry produced the single greatest performance I have ever witnessed live on a basketball court when he alone outscored the entire Wisconsin team in the 2nd half at Ford Field in Detroit, leading his team to an upset victory and a trip to the Elite 8. He was not supposed to and he did.

The improbable. The impossible. Shouldn’t have a shot. Not supposed to be there. Yes, the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament always ends up righting itself in the end, producing a champion from a blue blood school with every advantage and no reason to fail. However, every now and then there is a George Mason, a Villanova, and a Davidson to remind us that there’s still a reason to play the game.

We’ll be there to tell you about it. The Trip started in 2001 with 3 friends from high school and has now settled in at 5. Many cities have been visited. The Trip has seen its highs, and its lows, but never did it cease to exist. It has spawned its own website, clothing, catch phrases, and even a future spin-off. The Trip has thrashed several hotel rooms, devoured a brackets worth of meals and consumed its share of brews. It will continue on into the future with no end in sight, and only one goal – to be there.

Shout out to Philadelphia 2009.