It was a Monday morning when I was called and asked if I could go cover Akron in Seattle for the March Madness tournament.
I instantly texted my parents to see if I could go, and within the span of 30 minutes, I went from going to work on Friday to covering March Madness in Seattle.
This all happened so fast that nerves never even set in. Normally something this massive would have me worrying about how I would get everything done, but this time it was different.
My plans for the week changed so fast I really didn’t think about it much going up to the trip.
I have never done anything like this before, so I didn’t even know what to be nervous about. 
It all hit me as I arrived at the airport. It was a day filled with a lot of firsts, but the main thing I was concerned with was: how do I make the most of this?
The plane rides over to Seattle were not all that notable besides the fact that I didn’t know what TSA pre check was. When we landed, we hopped on a railway to get to our hotel (which took an insane amount of time).
The team practice and press conference were on day one, so I immediately got to doing what I was there to do, which was covering Akron basketball.
I watched both Akron’s and Arizona’s practices, and it was cool being up that close to players who were playing at nearly the highest level of basketball.
After leaving the arena, I went to go get food.
Seattle is pretty much a concrete labyrinth, with tall buildings blocking any and everything. I really was not excited to walk around Seattle as I do not like cities, but the other WZIP member I was with, Devyn Lucas, really wanted to walk around, so I obliged.
I can say I still hate cities, but in Seattle my favorite thing about it was the pier.
Right outside of the city and down a big hill was this massive pier with shops, food and the ocean. It was rainy, so I really didn’t get to appreciate the pier in all its beauty, but I took in what I could.
The bay had a lot of similarities to the journey to where I am and when I was there, it just felt like time froze.
Both are massive and neither are predictable, but both are amazing.
On the day of the game our shuttle was running behind.
Luckily, we met the Arizona radio broadcasters who kindly offered to let us ride in their uber.
During this uber ride we were talking about the game, how they felt, how the fans felt and if they thought Akron really had a shot.
They were saying that their team’s way of thinking is to never underestimate an opponent, which I could really appreciate.
This way of thinking made Akron’s eventual demise less painful as I felt Arizona was a good competitor.
After Akron’s loss, we went to the press conference where I listened to the coaches and players. While I didn’t have anything to say, it was nice hearing what the coaches and players thought of the game.
I had an overall pretty good time in Seattle and even though my team lost, I got to enjoy some good basketball.
I think this is the start of something big for me.
