As the Sawmill forums are still building as a community, I thought I would share my experience from my trip yesterday. I hope you start sharing your experiences too. I like reading about them, and I bet others do too.
Yesterday I went to my first away games of the SFA basketball teams. Since my family moved back to town when I was a kid back in '88, I have been to hundreds of sporting events in support of SFA. I haven't yet been to a bowling match, but I think I've pretty much attended every other sport that we play. SFA Basketball has been my sport of choice ever since the strong girls teams of the 90's. Back then I mainly laughed at the men's side, but I perked back up in the Kaspar years. (Side note: my father-in-law is a good friend of Kaspar's and they remain close). Like many of you (I'm guessing), my casual "fanship" took a turn the last couple of years. Now I have a full investment in the ups and downs of our teams, and I really appreciate the Sawmill for providing so much quality SFA sports info.
My father-in-law mentioned this past week that he might get to photograph the game for the Sentinel. He's worked as a freelance sports photographer for them for years, and he's been the official photographer for the SLC tournament several years. (Isaac, if you ever feel the need for Sawmill game coverage, you've got an in - hint, hint.
) I thought this might be the perfect game to make my first road game. Battle for first, Sam - I was in. Ultimately (no surprise really), the Sentinel decided not to shoot it. Still, we were excited to make a half day of it.
The drive through the pineywoods was quick and scenic if like me you love tall trees. Pulling into Huntsville around tip off of the girl's game, we made an executive decision to grab some food first. Considering SH's women's record, we thought there was plenty of time for some barbecue. We stopped into McKenzie's Barbecue there on the main drag. It was fantastic! Our cashier, despite the logo out front, was a Lumberjack and was glad we made the trip. No food photos this time, but if you have car trouble on 45 or if you're visiting a loved one who murdered someone, make your life a little better and stop in.
After that, on to that other Johnson Coliseum. It was okay as far as a sporting center goes, but man did it make me happy how nice our Coliseum is - especially our beautiful video boards. Anyway, we got there at the half, and were slightly puzzled at the score - down 3! I had to assure my father-in-law that the girls have a tendency to come out strong, rest their starters in the second, and then come out and put people away in the third. Thankfully my prognostication was correct, and despite what we didn't see, the Ladyjacks handled the female Kats (add your own description) with effortless ease. (Pic from that game in the Ladyjacks thread). Let me just say, that the fan support for the women's game was incredible. The SFA fans embarrassed the non-existant SH fans in the first game. The home team had to feel terrible after the energy that was clearly in favor of our team.
Next was the hour wait for the guys game to start. The warm up time (maybe somebody can explain why the come in and out so much) was not all that encouraging. Guys weren't hitting many things in practice. I know that's not the point of loosening up, but it sure helps the confidence when your balls go through the net before the game.
Once the game tipped off, I felt like we as fans brought the intensity. My guess is our fanbase motivated their fanbase to get more into the game too. Maybe this was good, maybe not, but if our team wants to take it to the next level, they have to be able to handle that excitement. The game got off to a frenetic pace, and it wasn't pretty. Both teams started loose with their execution, and we in particular seemed to struggle with finishing the play. Thankfully, foul trouble was not that big of an issue. I thought that this may be our saving grace as the game went on.
We started with 4 out of our first 5 being from behind the arc. Only Cameron's first shot found its mark. After that, it was clear that Keller told them to work the inside as we stopped any outside shooting save for a couple last second attempts. Honestly, this tactic worked to our advantage I thought. We were getting looks. We were missing shots. We were getting the fouls. We were missing shots. This whole time, our defense was bending but not breaking. The game stayed very even throughout the first. We had the ball at the end of the half - and like ALL year - we wasted a final possession and let them score. However, it wasn't terrible. 50% shooting, good inside work, we just needed to finish off the plays and protect the rim.
A huddle where Keller is saying, "Who's going to score?!?"
Unfortunately, then the start of the second happened. I don't know if I should credit the Sam defense or not. They were playing very physical and getting tons of fouls, but we had the looks. We had strong drives with no finish. The hoop got smaller and smaller. In and out clangers epitomized the first 7 and a half minutes without a field goal. It was brutal. Our defense really didn't fail, but our offense did. We switched it up - nothing. Sam finally got their 10 point-ish lead. And, we never found the answer. For a brief minute, the pace of the game picked up to a fast transition style game and we started winning the battle. But, quickly the pace slacked and there were no heroes. Our free throws could have kept this game close. 10 minutes of bonus, but no one had the touch this day.
I take it back. Gilmore hit these two shots (pictured). He was a beast out there. No flashy numbers, but he did strong yeoman's work all day. His defense was solid, and he made steady work on the offensive side. Unfortunately, he hasn't grown into an offensive force yet. His dribble drive is not authoritative, so most of his work comes in transition - but he does that well. A perfect compliment to a true scorer. We just didn't have any of those. We knew like always TJ and Ivan are the keys. They apparently got locked in the bus and no one could jimmy the lock quick enough. A rough night, but not a crushing one. Expectations rise and fall, but we're still very much in it. This team is better. We just didn't finish.
I loved the fan experience yelling with the PHA. We brought the intensity. I got to meet Isaac and shake his hand. I really enjoyed this first taste of BBall road tripping, and I know it won't be the last. That dark drive home in the tall pines wasn't as joyful as I wanted, but it made me think - next year.
Yesterday I went to my first away games of the SFA basketball teams. Since my family moved back to town when I was a kid back in '88, I have been to hundreds of sporting events in support of SFA. I haven't yet been to a bowling match, but I think I've pretty much attended every other sport that we play. SFA Basketball has been my sport of choice ever since the strong girls teams of the 90's. Back then I mainly laughed at the men's side, but I perked back up in the Kaspar years. (Side note: my father-in-law is a good friend of Kaspar's and they remain close). Like many of you (I'm guessing), my casual "fanship" took a turn the last couple of years. Now I have a full investment in the ups and downs of our teams, and I really appreciate the Sawmill for providing so much quality SFA sports info.
My father-in-law mentioned this past week that he might get to photograph the game for the Sentinel. He's worked as a freelance sports photographer for them for years, and he's been the official photographer for the SLC tournament several years. (Isaac, if you ever feel the need for Sawmill game coverage, you've got an in - hint, hint.
) I thought this might be the perfect game to make my first road game. Battle for first, Sam - I was in. Ultimately (no surprise really), the Sentinel decided not to shoot it. Still, we were excited to make a half day of it. The drive through the pineywoods was quick and scenic if like me you love tall trees. Pulling into Huntsville around tip off of the girl's game, we made an executive decision to grab some food first. Considering SH's women's record, we thought there was plenty of time for some barbecue. We stopped into McKenzie's Barbecue there on the main drag. It was fantastic! Our cashier, despite the logo out front, was a Lumberjack and was glad we made the trip. No food photos this time, but if you have car trouble on 45 or if you're visiting a loved one who murdered someone, make your life a little better and stop in.
After that, on to that other Johnson Coliseum. It was okay as far as a sporting center goes, but man did it make me happy how nice our Coliseum is - especially our beautiful video boards. Anyway, we got there at the half, and were slightly puzzled at the score - down 3! I had to assure my father-in-law that the girls have a tendency to come out strong, rest their starters in the second, and then come out and put people away in the third. Thankfully my prognostication was correct, and despite what we didn't see, the Ladyjacks handled the female Kats (add your own description) with effortless ease. (Pic from that game in the Ladyjacks thread). Let me just say, that the fan support for the women's game was incredible. The SFA fans embarrassed the non-existant SH fans in the first game. The home team had to feel terrible after the energy that was clearly in favor of our team.
Next was the hour wait for the guys game to start. The warm up time (maybe somebody can explain why the come in and out so much) was not all that encouraging. Guys weren't hitting many things in practice. I know that's not the point of loosening up, but it sure helps the confidence when your balls go through the net before the game.
Once the game tipped off, I felt like we as fans brought the intensity. My guess is our fanbase motivated their fanbase to get more into the game too. Maybe this was good, maybe not, but if our team wants to take it to the next level, they have to be able to handle that excitement. The game got off to a frenetic pace, and it wasn't pretty. Both teams started loose with their execution, and we in particular seemed to struggle with finishing the play. Thankfully, foul trouble was not that big of an issue. I thought that this may be our saving grace as the game went on.
We started with 4 out of our first 5 being from behind the arc. Only Cameron's first shot found its mark. After that, it was clear that Keller told them to work the inside as we stopped any outside shooting save for a couple last second attempts. Honestly, this tactic worked to our advantage I thought. We were getting looks. We were missing shots. We were getting the fouls. We were missing shots. This whole time, our defense was bending but not breaking. The game stayed very even throughout the first. We had the ball at the end of the half - and like ALL year - we wasted a final possession and let them score. However, it wasn't terrible. 50% shooting, good inside work, we just needed to finish off the plays and protect the rim.
A huddle where Keller is saying, "Who's going to score?!?"
Unfortunately, then the start of the second happened. I don't know if I should credit the Sam defense or not. They were playing very physical and getting tons of fouls, but we had the looks. We had strong drives with no finish. The hoop got smaller and smaller. In and out clangers epitomized the first 7 and a half minutes without a field goal. It was brutal. Our defense really didn't fail, but our offense did. We switched it up - nothing. Sam finally got their 10 point-ish lead. And, we never found the answer. For a brief minute, the pace of the game picked up to a fast transition style game and we started winning the battle. But, quickly the pace slacked and there were no heroes. Our free throws could have kept this game close. 10 minutes of bonus, but no one had the touch this day.
I take it back. Gilmore hit these two shots (pictured). He was a beast out there. No flashy numbers, but he did strong yeoman's work all day. His defense was solid, and he made steady work on the offensive side. Unfortunately, he hasn't grown into an offensive force yet. His dribble drive is not authoritative, so most of his work comes in transition - but he does that well. A perfect compliment to a true scorer. We just didn't have any of those. We knew like always TJ and Ivan are the keys. They apparently got locked in the bus and no one could jimmy the lock quick enough. A rough night, but not a crushing one. Expectations rise and fall, but we're still very much in it. This team is better. We just didn't finish.
I loved the fan experience yelling with the PHA. We brought the intensity. I got to meet Isaac and shake his hand. I really enjoyed this first taste of BBall road tripping, and I know it won't be the last. That dark drive home in the tall pines wasn't as joyful as I wanted, but it made me think - next year.
Ryan
Kinnaird Guitars
Kinnaird Guitars
