Feb. 7, 2011
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By Marc Daniels
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - When the plane touched down in Orlando Sunday morning it was routine for the UCF men's basketball team. After exiting the plane, head to baggage claim and then board the team bus back to campus. But the journey back home will rank as one of the more bizarre weeks of travel anyone could remember.
In my 16 years of calling games for the Knights, I have seen a lot. I have had flights cancelled, games delayed, luggage lost, layovers stretch for hours and hours, but this past week has to go down as one to remember and not wish to live out again for a long time.
We often use numbers in sports to describe stories. So here is a look at the week that was for the UCF Basketball team, numbers style:
3- Number of flight reservations the team had before even leaving last Tuesday to El Paso for a scheduled game at UTEP. Director of basketball operations Micah Byars received a message at 5 a.m. that our original flight that would take us to Dallas before heading to El Paso was cancelled because of the snow storm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A second set of plans to take off later in the day was changed to a third plan to leave earlier in the afternoon with a layover in Austin before heading to El Paso.
1- Number of hours after arriving in El Paso that snow begins to fall on what area residents say looks to be the coldest days on record.
8- Temperature outside in El Paso Wednesday morning when team awakes. Snow fell overnight and accumulated and roads were iced and the city is basically shut down. All schools and businesses are closed. The wind chill is -11 degrees.
60- Minutes UCF goes through its gameday shootaround inside the Don Haskins Center at UTEP. Upon arriving back at the team hotel, word spreads the game has been cancelled. UCF coaches try to confirm if the report is true.
2- Hours that different scenarios are thought about how to play the game. UCF and the referees are in El Paso and ready for a game. One scenario talked about was playing the game in the afternoon but UTEP and city officials do not want arena workers or fans on the road. More snow falls and rolling blackouts are now a concern because of high use of heat by El Paso residents.
5- The time early Wednesday evening that UCF, after the game has officially been postponed, heads to UTEP's practice court for a two-hour workout. It is still not known if the game will be played on Thursday or if UCF will take its scheduled flight to Raleigh-Durham for its game at East Carolina on Saturday.
4- Number of post-dinner cookies I ate at the team hotel. You will have to take my word on this one. Not sure I have ever had a better cookie. These things were hot, moist and simply delicious.
9- Time Wednesday evening that UCF confirms there will be no game on Thursday because more snow is falling and expected and UTEP's campus will be closed again on Thursday. El Paso officials do not want people on the road again.
0- Temperature Thursday morning when UCF awakes. The snow has stopped but the wind chill is -16 degrees. Weather reporters say the last two days might be the coldest on record in the city.
11- The morning flight time for UCF. The travel schedule has a layover in Dallas before getting to Raleigh. UCF leaves El Paso without playing a game. The local paper talked about the Knights returning on Monday as a scenario to make up the contest. That is not an option UCF was interested in.
50- Minutes on the layover in Dallas before the flight to Raleigh-Durham. Just enough time to overpay for Super Bowl merchandise in case anyone wanted to make a quick purchase. Also enough time to overpay for a bad lunch at the food court in terminal A.
6- Evening time on Thursday when UCF arrives in Raleigh-Durham from Dallas.
90- Minutes of the bus ride from Raleigh-Durham to Greenville. Greenville weather is 30 degrees and raining.
24- Hours of rain falling in Greenville on Friday. UCF practices for the game against East Carolina and spends time focusing on academics during the afternoon.
6,567- Number of people at the game Saturday evening. It's the largest home crowd for East Carolina of the season and in recent years.
7- Number of hours the team spends in a hotel by Raleigh-Durham Airport after busing from Greenville after the game.
1- Game played after traveling 3,700 miles over six days across the country twice.
Knights notes and more: The Internet is a wonderful avenue to access information in seconds. It can also be a dangerous place that is full of false information and an outlet where some fans of one team can spread false statements about other teams. If you have followed the story of one UCF football recruit, then you know what I am talking about. But be serious for a second and know this, Jeff Godfrey is a quarterback and there are no plans to change that...Speaking of recruiting, it is great to have a national ranking so high, if you like that stuff. George O'Leary has always had his own way of ranking classes. He ranks them when they are done playing at UCF...One can only imagine the chants Marcus Jordan has been hearing from fans on the road since he started playing high school basketball and now in college. Sometimes the chants are funny and in good taste. Sometimes the chants are offensive and downright rude. But the simple fact is Marcus is the son of Michael and his play often makes the attempted humor look foolish...Final thought: In the current world of gadgets and devices to send information from one person to another we are still using a fax machine for National Letters of Intent. A fax machine?
Marc Daniels' From the Press Box runs several times per month on UCFAthletics.com. Listen to Marc during UCF football, men's basketball and baseball radio broadcasts on the UCF Sports Network. Each weekday, Marc hosts The Beat of Sports on ESPN Radio 1080.