No excuses…..If you've ever wanted to feel a Force Field….Atlanta is the Place This Weekend!   I've been to Final 4.  It is Fun. Lots of Fun. I've been multiple times.  Had Fun Each Time.  My advice to one and all for years is simple:  If you have a chance to be in the City where a Final 4, a Super Bowl, a BigAss Event is being held….Go.   The electricity is palpable.

Now, if i had a dollar for everytime I heard "The Super Bowl is fun..but I sure wish the Falcons had been in it."  Well, they were not. Get over it.  (Full disclosure…I am a Baltimore Ravens fan.  One a few in the Southeast.  I really enjoyed SuperBowl.)  The Old Bill  would have taken Amtrak to NewOrleans, soaked up the energy , and had a helluva time.   But the New Bill had no backup for the Day After Super Bowl.  So New Bill (not nearly as much fun as Old Bill) watched his team win the SuperBowl from his living room.

My traditional favorite team in college basketball is Kentucky.   No, Kentucky is watching from the same spot I am….Our respective couches.   I've known quite a few folks who graduated from Louisville.  I really like one of them…Bill Samuels…the Maker of Maker's Mark.   The rest of UL alums….well, some I have known were just a little high strung for me.  Read self absorbed, self centered, jerks and jerkettes.   (Reminds me of the faxed note we found on the Hallway Fax Machine back in the early 90's..it was from a rep from Strip Joint Diamonds and Lace to a KZ Sales Rep.  She referenced a rival strip club owner to wit: She thinks her stuff don't stink…..but I'm here to tell ya..It All Stanks!!!!!!!!!.   A little dose of humility goes a long way…. at the strip club, at the 3rd Floor Clubhouse at Derby, in line for a smoothie at Whole Foods…)  But I digress.    Despite the baggage I am pulling for Louavull. 

I say that to say this:  If you don't have plans, drive to Atlanta Friday, or Saturday, or Sunday.  Park at a Marta station and head to Centennial Park.  Free concerts, crazy fans, a DomeFull of Energy, and One Helluva Time.   Lots of walking and way crowded but it's among the Greatest Shows on Earth.  Free.

Kevin overheard some UTC frat boiz talking about Savannah St Patrick's Day and how the implement that made his day was Bar-noculars.

Ah, the Bar-noculars.  My 1st, complete with case were purchased at Osco Drugs in Evansville IN 33 years ago.  The faux Bi-No's held a total of 16 oz of booze….2 x 8 oz I believe it said.   There was a strap, a double cap top, even a case.   As time went on, I added duct tape.   The BiNo's provided 90 proof refreshment in otherwise dry areas (dry for booze at least)….football games, concerts, picnics, Easter Egg Hunts (ok I made that last one up…..I do have standards).   Post 9/11 patdowns and a sense of decourum forced them into an early retirement.

So, grab the Bi-No's, a backpack, some snacks and wade into  Final 4 in ATL.    

It Will Be Fun.

Bill B.