Nothing but “The Truth”!
Boo to the NCAA, but yay to the Hoosier Hysterics and supporting cast for making the most out of the third edition of the annual Hoosier Fan Fest. The “Truth”, “World Tour”, and Watshot Part Deux all contributed to a memorable evening. Despite the loop that was thrown at the 11th hour leading up to the event, there was also a silver lining. More time was given to allow fans in attendance an opportunity to connect with players and score some autographs. It was an enjoyable night as always…and the General’s Assembly got some cool new additions!
I mean no offense to the current roster of players, but having some Indiana basketball legends in the house is the slam dunk for me. You see…I’ve been collecting signatures on a ball that with a pretty impressive collection of IU greats spanning several different eras. The problem is…it was missing the GOAT. Well, now it’s got the GOAT! Thank you, Calbert! I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance, but thankfully it happened. I also wish I had a Watshot photo on hand (still haven’t got a signed version of this…yet!), but the 11th place player on the career scoring list deserves to be inked on this ball, as well. Thanks to you also, Christian!
It’s become an annual tradition of mine to get the entire team to sign a ball. The scripted IU ball featured here is my favorite autograph ball of all time (I bought several of these when these were available for sale and I’m glad I did). I love the red leather and the overall look of this ball. Invariably, I get comments from those waiting outside at the event asking me where I got this…and unfortunately, I have to break the news to them this style is no longer available…or at least I don’t think it is.
I always attend an event at Huber’s Orchard & Winery that is headlined by the men’s basketball coach, an annual tradition dating back to the days of Knight. It’s here where I start the yearly quest of collecting signatures for the current season’s team ball…and thanks to the Hoosier Fan Fest, I have been able to get every player on the roster three years running. That almost didn’t happen this year, though. But purely by accident. When getting ready to leave the parking lot, I counted the signatures and noticed one was missing. C.J. Gunn. He must have been distracted — as was I — when going through the line and must have simply dished an assist to Malik. Upon this revelation, I ran like a bat out of hell back into SSAH, jumped into line, and was able to get the final sig right before the final bell, Whew!
My wife, son, and father all attended with me this year. With their help and support, along with a fellow fan friend, I was also able to get a fully signed team poster (this will be adorning a wall in my office at work where I can see it everyday). I’ll be taking this with me to Huber’s next year to ask Coach Woody to finish it off.
And finally, I was able to score three autographed photos of Malik Reneau, Mackenzie Mgbako, and Kel’el Ware. What an awesome haul!
Fan Fest 3 is now officially in the books. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely looking forward to seeing how things shake out with this year’s team. The ceiling can be quite high — veteran leadership, size (damn, Ware aside, I have to admit Sparks looks like a football player!), length, and athleticism, and roster depth at each position.
Until next time, Boooooo NCAA and GO HOOSIERS!