DAVID GREENE, HOST:
OK. People in Kentucky, don't call me a jinx, but there is the potential for some major celebrations in Louisville coming soon. Louisville is the school to beat in both the men's and women's college Division I basketball title games. The Lady Cardinals of Louisville will face Connecticut in the championship game Tuesday. We'll have more on that in a minute. First, it's Louisville against Michigan in tonight's men's final.
NPR's Mike Pesca reports from Atlanta, where some of the best seats don't always have the best view.
MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Michigan against Louisville is a clash of styles and also a clash of primary colors as TV viewers will witness. Behind one basket, a sea of Louisville red. Behind another, a sea of Michigan yellow. Sorry, maize. Got to get the terminology right if you want to hang out in the student section - which I was during Saturday's Michigan versus Syracuse game.
The students here couldn't believe they made the Final Four. They couldn't believe how well Michigan was playing and some, like Corey Marks, had another thing he couldn't believe.
COREY MARKS: I can't believe they charged us for this.
PESCA: Although the student section is a great place to lose your voice cheering on the Wolverines, it's actually a terrible place to see a basketball game. The court at the Georgia Dome is raised a few feet off the floor so the student section is below the court and it's also flat.
MATT LITNER: I think we need a little incline.
PESCA: Michigan junior Matt Litner and every other student not in the first two rows found out that the only way to actually see the game was to watch it on the stadium's Jumbotron suspended over center court. I did find one student who claimed he was following the live action. Here's the extent of what Matt Lamb saw.
MATT LAMB: Bellybutton up, and just shots.
(LAUGHTER)
PESCA: It should be noted that Matt Lamb is 6-foot-4. It should also be noted that there was nobody standing behind Matt Lamb.
LAMB: Yeah, I feel bad.
PESCA: No, he didn't. He felt good, ecstatic even. His Wolverines had qualified to face Louisville in the championship game tonight. The seating configuration will be the same. No matter, all the students are going to be back to watch the game - mostly on TV. Mike Pesca, NPR News, Atlanta. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
