Troy University Athletics
Paradise Lost in Boca Raton
2/10/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (M)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Well, the Men of Troy continue to streak along through the Sunbelt Conference schedule. Who'd a thunk it two months ago? (Honestly? Not me!)
Eight wins in a row is an accomplishment in the least for any team, but there are many, many bridges to cross in the next five games to get to the Conference Tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Actually, there is at least one round trip flight to Miami and 850 miles on a bus to Lafayette, Louisiana, between us and the tournament. Thankfully, of the last five games on the schedule, three of them are at home!
With five games left on the regular season schedule, it's like still having to play almost half of a football season. A LOT can happen in five games, but at least we are at the point where we can achieve a .500 season with 15 wins and losses. Not that I'm looking for that to happen, but it's the worst-case scenario at this point. And, besides, the 2008-09 season is shaping up to be the best yet in the Alyson era.
We'll still take it one game at a time and 20 minutes at a time (because they still demand on taking a half time break, despite my earlier campaign to alter that staple of the game). It will be an uphill challenge though, with Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Florida International, ULaLa, and South Alabama still on the docket. All of those teams have beat up on the Trojans in recent years, and the first two have had the honor this season already.
I hate to sound pessimistic - just want to be realistic and prepare for the worst. I like to say that I'm a slightly pessimistic realist, if there is such a thing. An ongoing motto of this athletic trainer is to prepare for the worst: if it happens, you'll be ready; if it doesn't, you'll be lucky!
With all this winning in the Trojan camp, I bet you're wondering why I entitled this edition as I did. As you recall, we were in South Florida from Friday to Sunday last week, pulling out a comeback victory over Florida Atlantic. I have been to Boca Raton many times with Trojans of all shapes and sizes: on a bus, on a charter flight, and as this last trip dictated - commercial airline.
The flights were fine - for most of us. The most vocal member of our group missed his flight - AGAIN! If you were traveling through the Delta check-in area of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport between lunch and 6:00 p.m., you may have very well seen Barry McKnight, The Voice of the Trojans, with all his game prep work spread out before him as he awaited the 6:50 departure to West Palm.
He wasn't the only one that had flight plans altered: the women's team actually flew in to South Florida on game day because their original late afternoon flight Friday was cancelled for mechanical reasons. I'm sure you'll hear about it from their bloggers sooner or later!
In keeping with my game day routine, I looked forward to a little jog in the Florida sunshine. I had mixed emotions about the jog because I actually had missed last week's two games in my recovery from my unknown illness and didn't know how that would affect the streak. But I rationalized that since I had NOT run and we had won two games to keep the streak alive, I felt like running would be permissible. I left my cell phone because I felt like I knew my way around and really didn't have much time to waste, keeping my jaunt short and to the point. Little did she know...I would need my cell phone this time.
I wanted to trek to the gym on campus and back but didn't want to cross the interstate overpass. So I went left and came to the mall - which reminded me of the good luck from Monroe - and started to run around it. But this isn't your everyday mall. This is Boca. (I'll tell you more about the mall later.)
I took a left around the end of the mall and looked for another left, but never could find one that seemed to be the way to go. I kept on ahead and shortly realized that my opportunity to turn left was gone and I found myself in a residential neighborhood with no outlets. A normal person would have back-tracked at this point, but not me! I had lost sight of the hotel on the horizon (a pink building that is hard to miss) and had no idea of surrounding street names. To make a long story short, my thirty-minute jog turned into 30 minutes of purposeful jogging AND 30 additional minutes of panic-stricken fast walking while trying to rationalize my directionally-challenged self back to the hotel. All this with only M&M's for breakfast...not good. The Fuji Apple Chicken Salad for lunch at Panera was the best meal of the trip. And I ate the whole thing!
I have a list of my favorite things to do at all the places we visit, but this trip was especially exciting because I knew I was going to get to log some quality time with my long-lost sister, Alyene! She made the four hour drive from Tampa to be the water girl with me on the bench during the game. In addition to her official duties as time-out-sweaty-towel-dispenser/water-cup-giver, we planned to do some serious shopping, in a serious shopping town, with her first serious Ernst & Young paycheck!
I saw more high-end retailers in one mall (Town Center Mall in Boca) than I've probably ever seen in all the malls I've ever visited put together. Really!! Cartier, Bulgari, a guy with a Z and two G's in his name-which is obviously someone important, somebody with the first name Henri, Burberry, Kate Spade, LaCoste...and on and on and on.
Half the stores I'd never even heard of; all of which are way out of my budget! I touched a pair of $600 Prada patent pumps that looked just like some I have in my closet, only not Prada and definitely not with a $600 price tag!! In addition to the high-end retailers and their so-called 'fashion', I saw more miniature dogs that I could count with strollers of their own, in the mall. Really?
In the very beginning of our shopping trip, right after the Auntie Ann's pretzel to give us energy for the task at hand and for me to replace my calories lost earlier in the day, I lost my wallet! I didn't realize it until about 30 minutes later and hit the panic button! It was a deeper and more intense panic than before, which I didn't think was possible. The incompetence of others is multiplied when you are in crisis mode. I knew I was a long way from home, with a plane to board, and lots of personal information in that wallet that could put my limited finances in serious jeopardy, and fast in a town like Boca.
But thankfully, there's one person out there that was honest as I'd like everyone to be that found my wallet in the Express, what turned out to be our first and last stop on the shopping trip. One way to minimize your shopping expenses - lose your wallet. To whomever that extremely nice and honest person is...thanks a million!
We celebrated the victory over FAU with a meal at Houston's Steakhouse. I've included some pictures of the fellas enjoying a fabulous dinner. And it's not a gang sign they're flashing - see if you can figure it out.
Switching gears back to the present - two BIG, HUGE, MONSTROUS games at home this week!!! If you're in Troy on Thursday and aren't in Trojan Arena at 7 p.m. you should be ashamed of yourself. At least 4,000 of you should be there. The others will be expected to be there Saturday night for a double-header. What other way to show your Valentine how you feel than to spend V-Day in Trojan Arena with them and 3,998 of your closest friends! It could be just what the Trojans need to get them over the hump.
Until then...one game at a time...
GO TROJANS!
ASteed
