979 miles, 33 hours, 12 giant cardboard faces, 1 purple spandex suit, a national championship game, and a trip to Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill later… I finally arrived home a little after 11 p.m. Saturday. My whirlwind trip to the Division 2 National Championship game was something straight out of college years lore and something I will be telling my children about many years from now (Granted I do get married and have kids.)
To tell the whole story from the last three weeks would be like Bob Saget sitting you down on the couch and trying to tell you how he met his wife in two hours or less. It just isn’t happening. I could ramble on about how I came into possession of a purple spandex suit and an old Montevallo basketball uniform… the Falcon’s improbable double digit comebacks against Lincoln Memorial in the second round and Metro State in the Elite Eight… about how two local business owners put together last minute viewing parties so that fans could watch Montevallo dispatch the reigning National Champions Bellarmine in the Final Four… the incredible effort that several individuals undertook to get four buses of fans, alums, and students to Kentucky for the National Championship Game… the alumni pregame tailgate… how I ended up on court at halftime. Instead, I want to talk about the incredible Montevallo spirit I witnessed over the last several days.
When the clock hit zero Thursday night in the Montevallo – Bellarmine game, reality began to set in: Montevallo would be playing for its first National Championship. Just a little more then three weeks earlier, 265 Division 2 basketball teams dreamed of playing in the final game. Through conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament, that number had been reduced to two. My alma mater, which I love dearly, was one of those teams.
The mad scramble began in the next five minutes or so at the Main Street Tavern as students, alums, and fans began frantically to try and find a way to get to Highland Heights, Kentucky, to watch Montevallo play for the National Championship. I called my friend John Brady and urged him to tell President Stewart to please find a way to get these fans to Kentucky. I know I was not the only one.
I went home that night and could hardly sleep. It reminded me of when I was a kid and the Auburn University football team had a magical run of 20 straight wins in the 93-94 seasons. There is an old saying that nothing good happens after 2 in the morning. Apparently, it was wrong. When I went to bed at that time, there were no plans for organized travel to get the fans to Kentucky. When I woke up the next morning there was plans for fan buses. I figured there might be only one (or at most two) bus going to Kentucky since students were on spring break and it was such a long trip. The Montevallo faithful filled up four of them. The story about how this feat was achieved is one I want to hear.
When I arrived at the game 40 minutes before tip-off, there were several hundred Montevallo fans in the stands – students, alums, faculty, locals. Most importantly, many of them were my friends. They came with their purple and gold, signs, flags, masks, and overflowing with spirit. It was the Southeast Regional final from 10 days ago all over again – except that they were five hundred miles from home. It was probably the largest gathering of Montevallo folks outside of the state of Alabama, ever. I can’t begin to express the pride I felt. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
I spent the first half of the game in the stands among my friends. We were loud, boisterous, and just plain excited to be there. At half time I was sought out by one of the Montevallo Trustees, David Wheeler. He escorted me down to the court and “dropped” me off with the Montevallo cheerleaders. I spent the rest of the game down there acting as an “unofficial” mascot until the end of the game. I held up signs, “helped” with some cheers, and generally didn’t know what I was doing. It felt surreal. The most awesome part about being on the court was hearing all the Montevallo fans cheer. They were loud, and I think I even heard an old Freddie the Falcon scream out “Ka-Ka! Ka-Ka!” a couple of times.
I joked with my friends afterwards that I need to write a book titled, “How to Turn Your 15 Minutes of Fame into 20 Minutes on the Court.” I now have a greater appreciation for the cheerleaders and all their hard work. I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to have had such an experience. However, I would have gladly traded it all to have gotten to see Montevallo cut down the nets and celebrate a National Championship.
Unfortunately, both teams can’t win a National Championship. Someone had to win, and someone had to lose. After Western Washington University won I was extremely proud of how the Montevallo family stood up and gave their team a standing ovation. The Falcons had no reason to hang their heads. They may not have won the game, but were in no way losers. There are 263 other teams that gladly would have traded spaces with them just to be in the final.
After the game I began the long drive home. Strangely, I wasn’t upset about the game. Instead, I was smiling. My small, public liberal arts alma mater had gotten a chance to do something that very few schools ever get to do – they played for a national title on national television. Maybe Alabama’s best kept secret isn’t so secret anymore… and I’m alright with that.
Final Thoughts on a First Impression 
Nice job, Purvis. It really was a magical run for the Falcons and I can’t wait till next season.