Bucket List Complete: Madison Square Garden

 

Growing up basketball was a major part of my life. I fell in love with the sport and latched onto college basketball. I was fortunate enough to attend the last Big East Championship game of the old conference alignment in 2013 and the first of the new conference alignment in 2014. Big East Basketball became a new love, and I set a goal to step foot between the lines at Madison Square Garden, the mecca of the college basketball and the Big East Conference.

 

Even at the time I knew that achieving this goal as a player was a tall task. So, my mindset shifted to the idea that I could coach and win a game at The Garden. I followed the sport under a microscope and would envision myself building a program and roster that could flourish on the biggest stage. I created a full-court basketball court in our basement and every night before and after dinner I would play season and tournament games with my brother Luke in my own world of college basketball.

 

Fast forward 10 years and the dream of suiting up as a player at MSG was effectively dead. I had just finished my college basketball playing career at York College where we unfortunately never had the opportunity to play in downtown Manhattan.

Like many previous years I decided to attend the Big East Tournament with my Poppy to see his alma mater Xavier live in person. Growing up a die-hard Xavier fan, I loved collecting jerseys of my favorite players but never wore them in public. So, I decided to wear my #5 Trevon Bluiett Throwback Runningman jersey to the game. This decision ended turning an ultimate bucket list opportunity into a reality.

 

Before the game started I was approached by Big East gameday staff who “loved” my jersey and asked if I would like to participate in a halftime contest and represent the Xavier Musketeers. I hesitated while my Poppy answered a confident “yes” for me. About ten minutes before halftime I was escorted through the back halls of The Garden and got a pretty cool tunnel view of the game where Xavier was playing soon-to-be National Champ UConn.

 

The halftime buzzer sounded, and it was game on. The game was basketball musical chairs where me and contestants representing the other schools competed by making a full-court layup and returning to our chair at halfcourt to stay in. While I tried to play it cool by not acting overly competitive, I couldn't stop thinking about winning.

 

In the end I scored 8 points and beat out Ethan from Seton Hall to claim my $50 gift card to Stout (a restaurant across the street) and more importantly my goal of winning a game at Madison Square Garden.

 

If you asked me at 13 years old, I would have had 100 different versions of how I would win at The Garden and that surely would not have been one of them.

 

I checked off a massive entry on my bucket list.