The Marks Post: Taking and missing my shot

I don’t know about you, but for me the past couple of weeks have been long. Between staying three days in Hammond for the LHSAA girls’ basketball tournament to going to Lake Charles for two other basketball tournaments have worn me out.
The latest trip to Lake Charles, though, was a new experience for me as I got a chance to cover The General Will Wade coached McNeese Cowboys in the Southland Conference Basketball Tournament finals. That was a pretty cool experience. Standing on a field or a court while confetti is raining down never gets old.
When I first got to the Legacy Center on Wednesday, I was walking back-and-forth around the back of the arena trying to get my bearings straight and ran into The General himself. In a brief conversation, he said he was ready for the game against Nicholls. And, boy, were Wade and his team of Bayou Bandits ready for the Colonels as they won their third SLC championship.
Now, I covered other NCAA championship events in the past, but this one was a little different. Usually at these events, I have become quite the foodie. But at McNeese, they gave us media members a concession voucher. So, at half time, I had to settle for a dry sausage poboy and a cold pop. Hey, it’s still Lent, right?
After the game and the pomp and circumstance that followed, I went to the press conference. While waiting it for it to start, I heard one of the other media members say this is the first time McNeese makes the NCAA Tournament since 2002. I remarked I was a sophomore at LSU back then. Others remarked they weren’t even born. Talk about making me feel old.
Now, Wade and his team may have been ready, but I, sadly, was not when I had my chance to take a shot. When the team was cutting the net, I got in the perfect position to take a picture of Wade cutting down the last few strands... but the memory card in my camera was full. I’ll try to do better next time, which may be in Glendale, Ariz., for the Final Four. I can dream, can’t I?