Coke Zero Dream Job – NCAA Tournament Interviews
March Madness. For many basketball fans, it’s a time to truly enjoy the next crop of young athletes and to see basketball in its purest form. When Coke Zero decided to create a contest that would encapsulate the fan experience, they decided to go and find four people; one each from Michigan State University, Syracuse University, University of Northern Iowa and Oklahoma State University, and they asked them to blog about their March Madness experience. Kinnon Yee talked with Steven Book, Stacey Rice, Ryan Hohanshelt and Dustin Tinney about what it was like to look at the tournament from the eyes of four lucky fans chosen to go to San Antonio to cover the Final Four on behalf of Coke Zero.
Kinnon Yee: Being fanatics of your own respective schools, how has covering your team changed your perception of both your team and your fans? Do you have a greater appreciation for the history of each of your storied programs?
Steven Book (MSU): As a Michigan State student and long time fan I have always known that we have the greatest student section in the entire nation. The IZZONE is a nationally recognized cheering section full of many traditions. However after attending the Sweet-16 match-up between MSU and Memphis in Houston, I was disappointed that few fans traveled to the game, especially in comparison to the Memphis fans. Throughout the year I have had the opportunity to meet some of the storied players that have set foot on Michigan State’s court. After meeting such players as Mateen Cleaves, Shannon Brown, Maurice Ager, Antonio Smith and knowing Paul Davis (he was a graduate of both my junior high school and high school), I definitely appreciate what they did for the school and for the community. They are all still heroes in East Lansing.
Stacey Rice (SYR): My team did not make it into the NCAA Tournament so I didn’t really get to cover them much. However, I did try to mention their NIT run in my blogs. My perception of the team and the fans has not changed, despite not making the NCAA Tournament. The team still played hard and the Carrier Dome was still packed with more than 20,000 fans for each of the NIT games. I have always had great respect for the history of the basketball program at Syracuse University; I would say that this experience has just enlightened me on the other great basketball schools out there.
Ryan Hohanshelt (UNI): Northern Iowa is not in a so-called BCS conference. From covering them, I have realized that this makes it very hard to gain entry into the NCAA tournament. You have to be close to the top-25 rated teams, or win your conference tournament. Previous teams made a run at three straight NCAA tournament appearances, which ended two years ago. I have realized and appreciated [the difficulty of entering the NCAA Tournament] ever since it has ended. The fans of UNI are amazing and last year, right before the conference tournament in St. Louis a huge blizzard hit Iowa and it made it difficult to travel to the tournament. However, I and a lot of other fans made it to the game. We represented the school well.
Dustin Tinney (OKState): Oklahoma State has a very rich basketball history. When the Gallagher Iba Arena is rocking, there are few arenas in the country that can match up with it. I used to go to the Eddie Sutton Basketball Camp and I have had the opportunity to actually play on that floor. It’s a special feeling. When you go to the campus and see how important all of the history is, it gives you a huge appreciation for how things have gotten to be how they are today. Oklahoma State has a history of great coaches, great players and great success. Watch out for us next season! We are going to be a tough team!
Kinnon Yee: How has this whole blogging experience changed your life? What are your future aspirations?
Ryan Hohanshelt (UNI): Blogging has done a lot for me. During the course of the tournament, a lot of anonymous people have sent me messages congratulating me. School-wise I have not been getting much recognition from papers and the news, which has really surprised me. My future plans are to head home and find a job in the sports sector. I graduated last December and am looking to land a job in sports marketing and promotions.
Dustin Tinney (OKState): I’ve always loved to write and I’ve always wondered what I could do if I ever had a chance to do something like this. Blogging is just fun when you are talking about something that you love, and sports is what I love. People have told me this is what I should be doing with my life and they have gotten even louder with voicing that opinion since I’ve been down here (in San Antonio), so I guess we will see. If an opportunity came up to do this, it would be a dream come true outside of actually playing the games or being a GM.
Stacey Rice (SYR): I think blogging has been great. It has helped my writing skills and it gives everyone back home an idea of what I’m doing down here in San Antonio. I have gained a lot more attention at Syracuse University. There were two articles about me in our school newspaper, The Daily Orange, last week, and I’ve had a lot of people commenting on my blogs. At school I’m studying broadcast journalism, and I aspire to be a sports broadcaster in the future. This experience has been really great for me because we’ve had so much interaction with reporters and the media.
Steven Book (MSU): This whole “Dream Job” has been an unbelievable experience. The media exposure has been awesome ever since I found out I won. I have been featured in newspapers around Michigan State and here in the San Antonio area. I think my favorite experience has been with the couple of sports radio stations that I have talked to. I have had numerous comments on my blog from people that I have never met before and from other students at Michigan State. I aspire to teach social studies at the high school level one day and also become a journalism adviser and a coach for the school.
Kinnon Yee: Finally, sports is a consistently evolving entity and while college basketball is one of the most exciting sports in all of the United States, what is one thing that you’d like to change about the tournament to improve it?
Stacey Rice (SYR): I think one way to improve the tournament would be to expand it. I’ve heard Jim Boeheim talk about it countless times and I agree that it’s a good idea. There are so many great teams out there that don’t make the field of 65 and I think if those teams were included it would make the action even more exciting. A lot of spots get filled because of conference winners and in the end, a lot of those teams lack the resumes the teams that lose their spot had.
Steven Book (MSU): I believe that the field of 65 teams should be expanded. There are plenty of other great teams out there that may never get the chance to play on a national stage. Some of the best “Cinderella-story” teams came from schools that no one had heard of. The exposure that previously unknown schools get just by making it into the tournament is unbelievable. I would also keep the games in stadiums that are made for basketball. After watching the Houston Regional Sweet-16 games at Reliant Stadium, I think it would be a really hard adjustment for players to play at big makeshift basketball arenas like that. It is a completely different atmosphere and the teams deserve to play in places where they feel comfortable. Plus, all my screaming and yelling could not be heard as well in the big stadium, I am a much more effective “sixth man” when the players can actually hear what I am yelling and I can get into their heads.
Dustin Tinney (OKState): Definitely fouls. Referees are always going to make questionable to horrible calls. It’s just how the game is and that’s fine. The problem is that the tournament is single elimination. You can’t be taking out the best players due to foul trouble. Especially, on a questionable call which does happen. My solution? Add another foul. Make it six (like the NBA). That way the players get three fouls per half instead of having to sit as soon as they get two. It’s only going to make the games that much more competitive and fun to watch. We want to see the best team win and that doesn’t always happen when the star player is on the bench.
Ryan Hohanshelt (UNI): Wow this is a tough question. I really see everything working well right now. I think smaller schools like Northern Iowa should get more respect because look at Davidson College. These teams can play with the big schools. So maybe extending the field a little or having more play-in games for like the final five spots. I think that would make it more interesting and teams that deserve to be in would be in.
HoopsAddict.com would like to thank Coke Zero for allowing us to interview the winners. Please continue to check out their respective blogs for updates from the NCAA Tournament.
