This is as good a time as any to share my "hard luck" 6OT story with the board.
Since I've moved to the NYC area 10 years ago, I've mostly attended every Syracuse BET game (missed a few), but this one was definitely going to happen.
Was planning to go with my friend Eric. We both work in TV news.
I believe this was pre-StubHub last minute pickup days, so your options for getting tickets were basically craigslist or scalpers outside the garden.
We agreed we wanted to pay about $75/ticket, and a hot ticket it was. $75 for a quarterfinal game seemed like a reasonable (yet still expensive) number.
Eric's work hours were an overnight shift starting at 11:30pm.
I worked about 5am-2pm.
I spent much of gameday scouring craiglist for tickets. Found someone who would sell a pair for $200/total, but thought I could do better.
Found another listing late in the day - forget the exact price - but it was much cheaper. Went about 20 blocks from my office to pick them up. Jackpot I thought.
Guy pulls up in a car and hands me the tickets. I immediately knew they were fakes. Crushed.
Called Eric and said no tickets, but let's meet at MSG at 5:30pm and try to scalp.
It was 8 degrees in NYC that night.
We looked, with everyone else.
Was willing to pay.
There were really no tickets for sale.
None.
At about 8pm, freezing and bummed, we agreed to go our separate ways and watch the game from home (Eric had to be at work in a few hours anyway)
I went home. Watched the first half and then passed out on my couch.
Woke up in the second OT and couldn't believe it.
As a tourney veteran, this was a particularly tough game to not have been at of course - especially having come so close.
To this day, I rationalize our lack of attendance with the fact that while I could have stayed all night (despite my 3:30am work wakeup call), there's absolutely no way Eric could have. Probably could have pushed it to midnight... 12:30... but never 1:30 or whenever the game ended. He had a job to get to and a news deadline to meet.
I wouldn't have wanted to have that happen, leaving me in the arena by myself.
I love that 6OT happened, but unfortunately there's a little bit of bitterness/regret in me that I didn't see the entire game as it happened, either live or on TV.
Onward and upward!!