I am a huge sports fan. I grew up on Michigan State sports, the Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Tigers. For the last year I have been so excited about the NCAA Final Four coming to Detroit and when my Michigan State Spartans made it into the final four I was ecstatic. Even better was that UCONN didn't sell all of their tickets, so a couple of days before the game they offered them to the general public and we got tickets!
I didn't believe it until they were in my hands, but we got tickets to the Final Four!
The semifinal game between Michigan State and UCONN was amazing. There were so many MSU fans in Ford Field that it seemed like a home game. The Spartans played great and the number one seeded huskies were no match for the speedy Spartans. I could not even believe that we were going to the National Championship Game on Monday.
The Detroit Lions usually play here (yes, they were 0-16 this year), but it was the site of the 2009 NCAA Basketball Final Four.
The crowd is starting to pile into Ford Field before the semifinal game between Michigan State and UCONN.
My husband, Matt, and I anxiously awaiting the start of the Michigan State/UCONN game.
Besides the basketball games there were a lot of other events going on around the city. There were free concerts, a 5K run, a basketball dribble race for kids, a fan interactive area called "hoop city", and open practices to watch the teams. The Detroit Metro Sports Commission helps to organize a lot of the big sporting events that come to the city and I have volunteered at several of their events (Super Bowl, AAU Junior Olympic, etc...). For the final four I helped out at the Big Dance, which was a free concert venue for the weekend. There were three stages and I helped people get around the city and find the stage they were looking for. It was all free and performers like the Pussycat Dolls, Staind, Fergie, and Gym Class Heroes were there so it was packed with people. It was awesome to see so many people in the city.
The Renaissance Center is located on the waterfront along the Detroit River and is home to GM Headquarters. The Big Dance festivities were located infront of it on the waterfront all weekend.
I was a volunteer for the Final Four and helped visitors to Detroit get around the city and the different events.
The Big Dance featured three stages with free concerts. On stage in this picture is the band Staind.
The national championship game didn't go as well as I had hoped for. I was really hoping for a Spartan win, but North Carolina played incredibly and we didn't have a chance.
A packed Ford Field for the NCAA Basketball National Championship Game between North Carolina and Michigan State.
However, there were a lot of positives that came out of the weekend. I was so proud of Detroit. Times have been rough for our area and there were a lot of questions as to how well this event would turn out. It turned out amazingly and we shattered a ton of NCAA attendance records: • Highest attended National Semifinal Games (72,456) in Final Four history (old record: 64,959) • Highest attended National Championship Game (72,922) in Final Four history (old record: 64,959) • Highest total Final Four attendance (145,378) ever (old record: 129,918) • Hoop City attendance of more than 75,000 (old record: 62,000) • Big Dance Estimated 300,000 fans attended free concerts (old record: 167,000) • Final Four Friday Practices: 32,000 fans • Final Four Dribble: 4,000 youth participants dribbled from Comerica Park to Hoop City • Road to the Final Four 5K Run/Walk: 1,702 participants breaking the previous record of 950.
Eventhough Detroit is going through a rough time right now, people still made it down to the city in huge numbers. Several attendance records were shattered throughout the weekend.