Be there if and when the Wolverines win the NCAA Basketball National Championship.

There is a big difference between going to the  Final Four in Atlanta  and being there in person should the Wolverines win it all for the first time in almost a quarter century. The difference while requiring a certain  amount of effort on your part, is money. Lots of it in terms of money you will save.

The Michigan Alumni Association has two tours going to the Final Four. The one that includes airfare on a chartered flight is approximately $3,000 dollars. The Land only version is around $2000. Tours do not include basketball tickets. All transfers are included  though, which is good because the the team and alumni will be staying at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel which is closer to Smyrna, Georgia than Atlanta. The hotel, on line however, looks very posh and seems to be one of those snazzy atrium  affairs.

Michigan fans arriving in Atlanta on Friday should be able to make the Michigan team practice at the Georgia Dome at 4pm Friday Afternoon. This event is free for all and will feature all four schools practicing  in hour intervals from one to four pm. Michigan is scheduled last. 
The Wolverine  practice will be  followed  by another free event which is the Reese's Candy  All Star Basketball Game  featuring East versus West  and manned by college seniors who's amateur eligibility has expired. In many cases these players come from schools eliminated earlier in the tournament. The Marta (Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) subway is an easy connection  from the Atlanta airport to the Georgia Dome.

Attending the Final Four in all it's glory is wonderful experience that will be remembered for life time. There are just two things however. Hotels insist on a four day, no refund, stay and two teams will be eliminated on Saturday Night.
 If you are mature enough to handle the second possibility you will still have a memorable experience at the Final Four. On Sunday two smaller divisions of NCAA schools will also battle for the championship at free games played at Phillips Arena which is adjacent to Georgia Dome.  And of course there will be the National Championship on Monday to keep you occupied.

If you are short on time, on a budget or just a Michigan fan  who can't stomach the thought having to hang around through two days of incipient talk radio and fan hype about a Louisville/Wichita State vs Syracuse final this writer is happy to provide an scaled down alternative which will have you at the Big Dance when the band plays One Shining Moment.

First, let's consider the Economics of Scale. Today is Wednesday at approximately 8:45 am. The following is taken from Stubhub online.  In the past this writer has dealt with Stubhub, found them reasonably priced and efficient, and have thus been pleased with the results.


What is interesting  is the first and third entries.  Tickets to all three games (two semi final and one championship game )  are selling currently selling for $500 each with 520 tickets to sell (First entry). Tickets for only the two Saturday semi final games are are available for $500 with 210 left to sell (Third Entry). With Stub Fans set the price. Tickets  usually are sold in a strip for all three games. What is surprising is that the hot ticket is Saturday night only and priced on par with tickets to Saturday and  Monday.  You may thank the Universities of Michigan, Syracuse, and Wichita State and their Alumni for the above. Apparently all  want to see their team play (at least once) in the final four and realize that the Monday championship won't happen for two of the schools. Louisville which went to last year's Final Four has more jaded fans. With that in mind it is easy to see  how Championship tickets are a bargain and therein lies the opportunity for you the latecomer.

The above shows Monday night championship tickets starting at $198 with 844 to sell. More  will arrive  Saturday night.

Prime Sports is the official ticket re-seller of the NCAA. The Prime Sports  fan ticket exchange will be be buying Monday tickets after the semi final games and on Sunday to re-sell to people like you.This fact (omitting the mention of your imminent arrival) will be announced at the Georgia Dome frequently on during Saturday's  games.

The bad news is Michigan plays in the second game Saturday. The good news is the National Championship doesn't start until 9 pm Monday. That means that should Michigan win you have slightly more than 45 hours  to order tickets online and get to Atlanta.  You could even drive and still make tip off. Flying won't be for free but it will be cheaper than  flying round trip  for the the entire Final Four. On Sunday or Monday, for all the airlines know you could be coming for business. Staying at hotel will not require a four night stay and hotel rooms will be more plentiful.

Six years ago this writer gambled and used frequent flyer miles to secure a Detroit to Cincinnati to Lexington Kentucky to Nashville Tennessee to Atlanta ticket on Delta. Departure was around 10 am and arrival at 7 pm.
I stayed at the Airport Red Roof Inn (which I think is gone now), and rode the Marta subway back and forth to the Georgia Dome. I also managed to make it back to Detroit Metropolitan Airport at 10am Tuesday morning. Just in time to call  the office which gave me Monday off  and say that I was making sales calls, and  working my way in to the office.

 I got my tickets from a company called Premier Tickets of Atlanta. I found them online using an ancient text only cell phone while watching Ohio State blowout Georgetown in the first Saturday night game. As I remember they were one of the few companies answering the phone that late .

I picked my ticket up  at their office in Buckhead on Monday. When I first called, I asked if  they were near a Marta stop. They said they were but it was a hike. I asked how much of a hike and they said about a  mile which I took to be an opportunistic underestimate. When I checked on  my computer's  map program I discovered it was exactly .95 of a mile.

 This year Prime Sports offers convenient paperless tickets. The Credit card you use to pay for your tickets becomes your ticket. According to Prime Sports it is scanned but not charged when you enter and paper print out guides you to your seats.

The seat I purchased from Premier years ago was a reasonably priced, nicely placed,  nosebleed single. In my experience  that is where the most interesting and knowledgeable fans sit.

I looked for Premier Tickets this time around but couldn't find them online.  I hope they were not a casualty of the tough  economic times. Perhaps not realizing I was strictly seasonal, they sent me a Christmas card one year. It offered "best wishes " and reminded me that "Life is an event".

If you are a Michigan fan who is not going to the Final Four  don't despair. If  the Wolverines win on Saturday night you still have 45 hours to make it to Atlanta which is infinitely closer than Seattle (scene of Michigan's 1989 triumph),  Houston, or New Orleans (site of the last two final fours). Who knows when the opportunity will come again ? So don't just say "Go Blue."  Go for it yourself, because life is indeed an event.