LAFAYETTE, La. - The team is shooting around in a semi-dark Cajundome. The main lights
are coming on, but the players had to start warming up with little more than
the advertisements from the various video boards lighting the court.
This dome is enormous. It
has capacity for 11,500 for basketball games, but the height of the place seems
endless. The Cajuns have drawn as many as 11,479 for a game (in 1992) and have
drawn over 10,000 five times, although most of their largest crowds were during
the late '80s and early '90s.
The biggest crowd in
Cajundome history was in the first week of operation in 1985, when 13,500
filled the dome to watch Kenny Rogers.
The Denver team left
campus yesterday after a morning practice and flew through Houston before
arriving in Lafayette around 8 p.m. Most times, the team avoids connections
(and the higher risk of lost luggage) by flying directly into the nearest
possible airport. In the past, we have flown to Baton Rouge or New Orleans
before bussing for a few hours to Lafayette.
Everything went smoothly
yesterday, however, and the flight from Houston to Lafayette actually took off
ahead of schedule since all the passengers were there and ready to go.
After checking into the
hotel, the players headed across the street to eat and then headed back to get
some rest.
About Louisiana-Lafayette: ULL's campus is a nice and definitely Southern with
cypress trees throughout. Cypress Lake, or "The Swamp," sits right outside the
student union with various signs that advise visitors not to feed the
alligators and to keep pets on their leashes.
None of the players can
confirm any of this, of course, since the Cajundome is far enough away that
none of them have actually seen it.
Among ULL's athletic
alumni are Carolina Panthers starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, Toronto Blue
Jays closer B.J. Ryan, Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley and New York
Yankees legend Ron Guidry.
A few other alums: Former
Miss USA Ali Landry, who may be better known for a Doritos commercial, and fitness
guru Richard Simmons, whose picture is unfortunately nowhere to be seen around
campus.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights
- 9
Total Mileage Flown - 6,851
Total Bus Miles
- 782
Total Number of Hotels - 5
Total Number of Different Airports - 7
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Abandoned Christmas Trees Inexplicably Lying
Next to the Outback Steakhouse Parking Lot - 1
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