March Before Madness Became NCAA Tournament

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I just remembered that I went to the Final Four in 1972, at the Los Angeles Sports Arena. I realize that the Final Four and March Madness has taken on new meaning since that time, when most of you were probably not born yet. But it was famed UCLA Coach John Wooden's 8th of his unmatchable ten National Championships in basketball.

For the record, UCLA beat Florida State by a score of 81-76 on March 25, 1972, at the Sports Arena. Bill Walton, the Bruin center, was the tournament's Most Valuable Player. In those days, only 25 schools were in the tournament, as opposed to 65 today. Some years, the championshp game was not even on television.

The LA Sports Arena is now an older, and much less desirable place to play. It is located next door to the famous Los Angeles Coliseum, home of the USC Trojans, LA Rams, and LA Raiders, along others. Even the LA Dodgers were tenants at one time. Two Olympics have been held there. And I saw my first college football game there, between USC and Notre Dame, with Paul Hornung as the big star and Heisman Trophy winner. The USC campus is a stone's throw away.

It is located in a relatively bad part of town. But there are some good places to eat nearby, as well as a few good watering holes. I leaned on my many visits to our sister fraternity at USC to jog my memory of good bars in the area.

I am sorry to say that I did not save the game program or buy a souvenir T shirt that day. I know I cannot find the ticket stub either. But it is an indelible memory in my sports fan hard drive. Little did I know that this game would become one of the biggest sporting events in the world in just a few years, when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird had their big game. For that reason, it is difficult to compare it to some of the other big sporting events I have attended, like the Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, The World Series, Olympics, The Masters, The U.S. Open (golf and tennis), Davis Cup, NBA Finals, and The Big Game. If my Cal Bears ever get to the Rose Bowl, I could call this list almost complete.

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