[NCAA Championship]: Sights and Sounds

Sights & Sounds

Thursday

– Fans congregate outside of the Pacers’ Conseco
Fieldhouse to celebrate the retirement ceremony of former Bruin
great Reggie Miller.

– Former Indiana coach Mike Davis is booed by fans as he walks
down the streets of Indianapolis.

Friday

– The UCLA Marching Band wins the “˜Mascot Contest’
at the Battle of the Bands at NCAA Hoop City.

– Coach Ben Howland makes a half-court shot at the end of the
Bruins’ open practice at the RCA Dome.

– George Mason players exchange high fives with the Patriot
cheerleaders and band members during the end of practice.

– Police make arrests on Indianapolis’ famous Meridian
Street as numerous Final Four fans hit the bars the night before
the first pair of games.

Saturday

Pre- Game

– USC fan, and 98 Degrees performer Nick Lachey flips off the
UCLA band during a pre-game concert performance outside of the
Stadium.

– Huge inflatable tents are setup outside the arena for fans to
tailgate, each with different tables sponsored by beer
companies.

– ESPN Gameday sets up a studio on the porch of the Indianapolis
mall, with Bruin fans and the Bruin band making noise in the
background.

Game-Time

– Bruin fans chant “Change your Diaper” to the
Tigers’ Glen “˜Big Baby’ Davis during his
extremely sub-par outing, going 5-for-17 from the field.

– Former Wooden Award winner, and 1995 champion Ed O’
Bannon leads chants of 8-claps throughout the entire UCLA cheering
section, spanning from the students sitting courtside to the fans
all the way at the top of the Dome.

– Sixth-year senior Janou Rubin saw some rare first-half action,
playing the last three minutes of the first half.

– Bruin great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, wearing a UCLA hat, was given
a standing ovation when his image was shown on the big screen.

– The Bruin band waved Cameroonian flags whenever Luc Richard
Mbah a Moute went to the free-throw line.

Post-Game

– ESPN reporter Andy Katz apologized to the Bruin den after the
game for predicting the Bruins to lose to LSU.

– About 200 UCLA fans congregated in the TGI Friday’s in
Indianapolis after the game, and started chants of 8-claps as well
as chants inside the restaurant.