An Evening at the McKale Center

About ten days ago, an opportunity to see Wilbur the Wildcat and the No. 1 ranked Arizona basketball team in action presented itself courtesy of cousin Dora.

She and I are both "early arrival" types, so we were there soon after the McKale Center doors opened. As we approached the main entrance, we passed the "Zona Zoo" entrance. We would soon learn how close we were to being in the zoo.

There is something about walking into an arena or stadium before the seats are filled--in the case of the McKale Center, the 11,000 seats. The sense of anticipation is palpable.

As we scanned the Center for the location of our seats, it appeared that we were right in the Zoo. The Student Section.

However, it turned out that our section number had been obscured by an enclosed space. We were next to the Zoo and in the very last row. The Center's wall was behind us.

In front of us was this view of the court.

With the wall behind me, I could stand to take photos at any time during the evening. With the enclosure on my right, I could lean against it to steady the camera.

I've had seats in the end zone of football games, and what I lost was a perspective on the distance a run or pass covered, but what I gained was a view of how a play develops--blocking patterns on runs, passing routes run. Being able to see the whole field of action without a lot of head turning was a significant plus

And such was the case with watching the action on the court. Everything was in view--I didn't think I was missing any of the activities. For example, the director of the group of musicians was quite skilled, enthusiastic, and vocal. In the early minutes of the evening, we could hear her instructions some 40 rows away.

In addition to the shoot-around, players engage in some stretching exercises during the warm-up period.

After this period of loosening up before a relatively empty house, the serious preparations began.

Wilbur the Wildcat's appearance starts things rolling.

He and the cheer squad herald the team's appearance. The ESPN crew gathers for the pre-game shots.

Wilbur schmoozes with fans and begins responding to the first of the evening's many requests: "Can I get a picture of you with my _______?"

The announcers and analysts begin their preparations. (I think that's Bill Walton with the head phones on in the lower right hand corner in the photo below.)

The players assemble for the singing of the national anthem.

Wilbur accents the player introductions by waving the U of Arizona logo flag.

And the tip off begins the Arizona-Colorado game.

The Arizona Wildcats jumped to an early lead (18-4) in the opening minutes of the game.

With a double-figure lead most of the game, the team allowed Wilbur and the fans to have a very enjoyable, stress-free evening.

Wilbur could dance

and play with kids during a shooting game during a timeout in the game.

During timeouts, the cheer squad performed dances and acrobatic feats.

And Wilbur was able to join the fans in sharing the good feeling

of building a 39-24 halftime lead.