In theory, the Final Four is two games pitting the winners of the East Region, West Region, Midwest Region, and South religion against each other in order to determine the ideal championship game matchup. Really, the event is much, much more than that. Especially when the place of the sport’s biggest event in the palace of excess that is Jerry/AT&T Stadium.

     The beauty of it is that the games capture the passion of the college via the manufactured student sections, complete with jam-packed, rowdy twenty-something’s jumping up and down, with their trademark posters and costumes. Heck, former Wisconsin running back, Montee Ball, now of the Denver Broncos, showed up in a frog costume and a backwards snapback with the trademark, uppercase W. That leads me to the real novelty of the game. Who’s who of college basketball shows up every year, and its an incredible thing to be just a row down from some of the superstars of the game. For instance, sitting a row down from yours truly was the MVP of college basketball, Doug McDermott.  Behind me in the concessions line was pro golfer, Steve Stricker. Drake was across the way in the Kentucky section.

But of course, the greatest thing about the event is the games and their magnitude. Each of the four teams is so close, yet so far away from being able to claim their squad is the best at basketball at the amateur level. After every call, whether it’s a run of the mill shooting foul, or a possession call at the end of the game when it really counts, the reaction is magnified. You can always here the usual, “Good Call Ref!” or “Ref, you suck, but even the casual fans clap emphatically or boo their minds out for everything, as everything is on the line. Plus, if you’re a sports fan at all, casual or die-hard, you’ll be enthralled with the beauty and intensity of the play of the best teams in college basketball. This year’s game in particular was one of the better ones of the decade. Connecticut went up fifteen early in the first half, only for Kentucky and their NBA-ready talent roared back to cut the deficit to three just before halftime. Even when UConn went up again by twelve, the Kentucky kids went on another tear, cutting the lead back to one. After that, UConn pulled away on threes by Niels Giffey and the tournement’s Most Outstanding Player, senior point guard, Shabazz Napier.

No matter who you are, make sure you go to the Final Four, just at some point in your life, whether its for the game or the entertainment that goes with such an event, it’s an experience you’ll never forget.