Happy Trails, Bobby

Last year I had the pleasure of working with the press for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Winston-Salem. Without a doubt, my favorite part of this was watching the Tar Heels play from my courtside seat. The next best part of this job (besides getting paid very well) was sitting in on two Bob Knight press conferences. Coach Knight was his larger than life self in the pregame conference before the Texas Tech team matched up with Boston College. I had the thrill of hearing him comment on strange Jim Crow-esque laws, Albert Pujols, and his saying that, "Adolph Rupp was a son of a bitch."

What I'm saying is that I have a soft spot for Bobby Knight. I would probably hate him if he won more after I was born, since I was a couple months late for his 1987 championship. But still, I really enjoy the fellow. From a distance. We all knew he was getting old - he took a fall while going up the steps to the interview room when I was working, and it wasn't "my buddy just fell flat on his face, haha," but "oh no, Grandma fell and hurt her hip!" that everyone thought. The man is getting up there in years, and he looked rather frail last March.

I'll miss Bobby Knight. Now if only ESPN would take him on as an analyst. Maybe he would punch Mike Roberts in the face.

Note: the picture above is one I took after Knight's Texas Tech team lost. It was his last NCAA tournament game.