Destination: Denver...WCBN Style

Here is the first installment in our series documenting the WCBN trip out to Denver

Wed 4/9

12:30 PM EST

Andrew and I merge onto I-94 West in Ann Arbor on our way to Chicago Ohare Airport. I flew out of Chicago because flights were $250 cheaper than they were out of Detroit. Andrew’s dad is a pilot for United so he flies for free – with the catch that he has to fly stand-by. Ohare is a United hub which gave him the easiest route to Denver.

3:30 PM CST

Our Toyota Echo pulls into the Ohare parking structure having made great time, barely hitting any of the much feared Chicago traffic. We park in the “Chicago Bears” level and head towards terminal one.

3:31 PM CST

As we walk towards the terminal I do the standard pocket check to make sure I have the important things – wallet, cell phone, keys. Oops. Forgot the last item on that list. Sure enough I peek in the passenger window and see my keys sitting on the seat. Trunk’s closed, doors are locked, so I place a call to the Ohare parking services – figure we may as well get our money’s worth as we’re paying $30 a day for the car to sit there and listen to the Chicago Bears theme song on repeat. Lucky for us, we have five or six hours to kill and the service is complimentary!

3:45 PM CST

After checking in, we survey the departure board for perspective flights for Andrew. . Note: this was the day American Airlines decided to cancel 900 flights. This presented a problem for Andrew as all those AA customers jumped him on the stand-by list for the 8:00 and then the 9:40 flights. Also complicating matters was the fact that the 4:50 United flight to Denver was delayed for three hours while they searched for a pilot.

5:00 PM CST

Having not eaten all day, we decide to grab some food. The most appealing option at the time was Magic Wok. Since all the tables in the food court area were packed, we take our orange chicken over to the closest gate. Sure enough the flight out of gate C36 was bound for Beijing. So as we at our fake Chinese food in shame amongst the fine folks on their way to authentic orange chicken we decide to so some planning ahead and find out how to get from the Denver Airport to our hotel.

5:45 PM CST

We call our esteemed Sports Director, Tony Bolton, who had already arrived in Denver to inquire as to whether or not our hotel offered a free shuttle. While Tony couldn’t answer that question himself, he was able to provide us with the phone number so we could call the hotel ourselves…or so he claimed. After dialing the 5^th number that Tony gave us (encountering a variety of SIDs and NCAA media relations people) I got through to the hotel and discovered that our best bet for a shuttle was going to run us $20.

7:15 PM CST

We head to gate C42 to await Andrew’s first chance to get on stand-by. Andrew is representing the fine people at United Airlines so he is well-dressed in khaki’s and a polo, but I’m all decked out in my maize Michigan hockey jersey. As we’re sitting, waiting, wishing (gotta love Jack Johnson whether he be the LA Kings defenseman or the Hawaiian singer) for Andrew to get on this flight, an older gentleman spots my jersey and walks up to us, striking a conversation about Michigan’s Frozen Four chances. We ask, “oh, so you’re a Michigan fan?” He responds, “Michigan Fan? Son, let me show you something,” pulling off the ring from his right finger and extending it out to us. “This is the 1979 Rose Bowl ring. I was the captain on that team, I played center for Ricky Leach for three years and then for Archie Manning for three more in the league.” As the conversation continues, we ask him what he thinks of Rich Rodriquez, he cuts us off mid-sentence, “Love him, absolutely love him, hell I got him that job.” Now this is pretty surprising to Andrew and I since the common perception is that the former players were against hiring a “non-Michigan Man.” He laughs that off saying that the alumni all love Rodriguez and then goes on to shock us when asked about Lloyd Carr, “We hate that son-of-a...” Apparently this former player used to coach high school football in Colorado and sent the tapes of five players to Carr with the hopes of eliciting offers from Michigan. Not only did they not get offers, but Carr refused to even watch the tapes. We continue talking to this former player for the next 15 minutes during which he offers several times to send us back a cocktail once we board the plane. After we tell him that Andrew is trying to get on the flight stand-by and I’m ticketed on the 9:40 flight, he laughs again and tells us to hand over our tickets, he’ll take care of it for us and get us on the flight as well as bump us up to first class. Well unfortunately, he was able to beat Ohio State, beat USC? but he was unable to get us on that plane. Big prize to whoever can guess the player that we met. Leave your answers as a comment below.