INDIANAPOLIS- A packed house at Lucas Oil Stadium, as the Butler Bulldogs battled the Duke Blue Devils for the NCAA basketball championship. Duke beat
Butler 61-59.
It was a nail biter all the way to the end, as the two teams stayed neck and neck throughout, neither one really seeming to dominate the other. The NCAA says around 72,000 fans and 1200 members of the media (not counting the hundreds of CBS production staff) were jammed into the arena, that’s normally used for a football stadium. It was a screaming sea of blue and white. Even if you aren’t a college basketball fan, its hard not to get caught up in the Cinderella story of “underdog” Butler surprising its’ critics and making it to the big game. Even Butler fans were amazed “This is like a dream come true. I never thought we’d make it here” said one B.U. senior. Despite the loss to Duke, many said they were still feeling proud to have gone this far.
Butler is the first team in 12 yrs to have 2 academic all-Americans playing in the championship game.
Maybe one reason Butler did so well this season; starting players rub the team mascot’s head for luck, before the start of every game. The mascot is a 6 year old English bulldog, named Butler Blue II. The Dog is a star in his own right, having been on several TV stations and newspaper photos during the season. But It looks like all the publicity seems have left little BB II a little tired and red eyed. (see pictures attached).