2014 Final Four Day 2 Wrap-Up: Legends, Rings, and Some Time at Center Court!
My second day at the Final Four was incredible. I interviewed two Hall of Famers and was on the other side of two TV interviews. People tweeted about me and wrote about me on Facebook. Best of all, I got interviewed at center court during an event celebrating kids who did community service — and the interview was shown on the big screen that hovers over the court!
Soon after I got to AT&T Stadium, I interviewed the Big O, Oscar Robertson, and got to hold the college player of the year trophy that is named for him. (Watch my interview here!) Then it was off to the locker rooms. I asked the same questions to every player throughout the day. The questions were, “Would you rather watch your favorite TV show or have karaoke night on the big screen hovering in the arena?” and “Would you rather watch a highlight of yourself or play your favorite video game on the big screen?” (Check out their answers here!) I also asked, “Is there any certain ritual you do before a game?” (Read all about it here!)
After watching Florida practice on the court, I walked by their locker room just as people were setting up to measure the ring sizes for all the players. I learned that every player at the Final Four gets a silver ring and a watch, but the championship team gets a gold ring and a watch. They even get to pick between different types of gold!
I also got to watch the Reese’s All-Star Game between college seniors whose teams aren’t in the Final Four, then went behind-the-scenes with the organizers of the Reese’s SLANT Celebration. SLANT — which stands for Service Learning Adventures in North Texas – is a really cool program that gets kids to help out in their community.
More than 9,400 kids participated in recent months, and this event was in their honor. Grammy-winning artist Common was one of the hosts, and then several former athletes spoke, including Daryl “Moose” Johnston from the Cowboys and Rolando Blackman of the Mavericks. Then there was another guest – me! I told kids to never give up and to keep on trying, even if you fail at something.
The show ended with a concert by former X-Factor finalist Carly Rose Sonenclar. Her final song was “Happy,” which is exactly how I felt!
