Sights and Sounds of Danbury 2001

By Mark Simon

The Final Four is always more than a weekend of games, it's a celebration of basketball, a tapestry of sights and sounds, with many interesting moments that don't show up in the box score or play-by-play.

Final Preparations
Spotted in the lobby of the Ethan Allen Inn on Saturday at approximately 1:30 a.m, 18½ hours before the national championship game: A member of the Washington University women's basketball team sitting outside her room doing homework.

Mr. (And Mrs.) Rodgers' Neighborhood
Spotted in the last row of the stands behind the Washington University bench, Wilfred and Sherry Rodgers, who had a bird's-eye view of their daughter's 36-point performance in the championship game.

"You didn't hear? We just got a transfer from UConn. She'll be here tomorrow.''

— Messiah head coach Mike Miller on how his team planned to stop Tasha Rodgers in the championship game.

"No more practice!"

— Chant from a couple of Washington University players following the morning shootaround before the championship game.

"I wanted to sit and spectate. It was basically a situation where I don't want to say anything to screw it up. That was pretty amazing.''

— Nancy Fahey on the 16-0 run that upped the Bears second-half lead from five to 21 points.

"She's a stone-face.''

— Washington University senior guard Sara Ettner on the lack of on-court expression from Tasha Rodgers.

"People thought that it was a given that we were going to be here. It was not. It was hard.''

— Tasha Rodgers on the difficulty of winning this season.

"I'm not a stat coach...I leave that to Tasha.''

— Bears coach Nancy Fahey when asked if she was concerned about certain players not scoring.

"We felt blessed for being able to be together every week. Every game and every win meant one more week of basketball.''

— Messiah sophomore forward Christina Vouriotis on what winning meant to the team.

"Colossians 3:23"

— Biblical verse written on the sneakers of each of the Messiah women's basketball players: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."