Grady Gallagher | Blogger

What’s up? What’s up?

Want to give a quick shout out to my uncle Marty and his wife Emily on their new baby boy, aka my cuz! Leo Joseph Gallagher. #BeastMode #PullUpJumper

One more week till Thanksgiving, which reminds me to put in my annual birthday shout out to my mother whose b-day falls on Thanksgiving Day this year. Happy early birthday Mom! I’m very thankful for you and all you’ve done for our family. It takes a special person to marry a writer, raise five kids, and maintain the lowest women’s handicap on the golf course. Way to go! Two thumbs up!

Another thing I’m thankful for this year is the start of basketball season. There are many things I love about college basketball, but near the very top has to be the bus trips. Coach VH preaches this is one of his favorite things as well. I always enjoy my time on the road, but chilling on a bus with our team with hours left to our destination, man, it doesn’t get much better.

So what’s a bus ride like, G?

Well, since I’m writing this on our bus ride to Jacksonville, Illinois, I guess I could share….

“Off to sea”– Before leaving, the bus driver usually says a couple things about emergency exits and stuff. (I enjoy the drivers that at least try to incorporate a sense of humor.) Coach counts to make sure everyone who is making the trip is on the bus while guys battle for the seat they want. There are plenty of seats for each guy to have two seats to himself on this trip, but when conference games come around and we share with the girls, it’s every man for himself (unless you have a bus buddy, of course).

“On the road again”– This is the first hour or so of the bus ride when guys are getting comfortable, starting card games, or just reviewing the latest gossip around campus. In this first hour, there are some weaklings that already start napping (guilty beings on this trip: Thomas and Bob) and try to ruin the ride for everyone. The strong ones rise above, though. Also, on this particular trip we got to watch the 1st half of the Iowa vs. Texas game at this time. It was pleasant if you could ignore the almost un-ignorable fluttering, constant skipping, and random sound bites that the TVs in the moving vehicle produced.

“Flow”– This is the middle part of the bus ride when you feel the sensation of gliding in a 10 ton machine moving at 70 mph…….. with no seatbelts. Honestly, it’s my favorite part. This is when the Mid-Bus Gang (Me, Nick Clark, Kennedy Drey, 4th seat member applications are still pending) comes to life and usually share scary stories, gossip, and torture the sleepers on the bus. RIP to the creators and former members of the Mid-Bus Gang, Jeff Stevens and Michael Kaufmann who graduated last year. Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. The “cool kids” playing cards in the back will randomly hoot and holler, but you know the universal shouting happens when Greg loses. The people in the front of the bus usually take part in random actions like reading (why?), sleeping, watching the movie that’s playing (currently: Elf) or picking their nose.

“Down time”– This is the 4th part out of a bus ride’s five. This is when most people are napping or listening to music in order to pass the time. Or both (guilty). I’m never quite able to stay awake during this part of the trip so I’m not sure who is able to stay up through it. My guess, probably the old men on the team like Tyler and Juhl who would rather tell each other stories from the war or argue whether they should see a doctor about a spot on their back instead of sleep.

“Land hoe”– Upon arriving at our hotel or destination, guys usually start to get up and get ready to get off. I’m sure a lot of the guys enjoy getting off the bus, for me, not so much. You always have to wait like 2 more minutes than you should have to and you just stand in the aisle without talking while frustration builds. Why aren’t we getting off? I always think in my head. Also, for me, it seems like it’s back to reality getting off the bus.

Well, if you were wondering what college basketball bus trips are like? There ya have it. What makes the long road trips even better? Getting the road win (or wins).

Thanks for tuning in this week, folks. Happy Thanksgiving!!!