So you may have heard about the fire at the NCAA Hall of Champions in Indianapolis. Blaze on the second floor was started by an electrical problem, set off the sprinkler system causing three inches of water in some spots, severely damaged a basketball court as well as volleyball and tennis displays.
And it was caused by that sappy NCAA hoops love song, “One Shining Moment”. Apparently they took the line from the song “You’re running for your life …” a bit too seriously.
Investigators believe the “One Shining Moment” display, which shows every nostalgic OSM since it’s inception after the 1987 NCAA title game (that Indiana won, thank you), short-circuited and caused the fire. The display runs constantly during work hours, although since the fire was called in at 7:30 AM, you have to wonder who was playing with the thing.
Anyone else think NCAA Prez Myles Brand was trying to wipe any image of Bob Knight from the machine?
Anyhow, all NCAA workers were evacuated (if they were at work yet) and the damage is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of bucks. So, for old time sake, here’s the very first OSM, complete with the final moments of IU cutting down the nets. This one’s for you, Myles: [youtube width="425" height="335"]http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LjU0VTNTb0[/youtube]
I once spent an hour in the NCAA hall, just going through each of the individual OSMs. One of the best hours I’ve ever spent. Which is good, because it’s the only reason to even go in that place, the museum is total crap other than that.
Ok, future NBAers in this video as far as I can tell: Kevin Gamble (hitting a shot for Iowa), Derrick Coleman (several times actually), the Tark as a short-lived coach of the Spurs (have to love the towel munching), J.R. Reid at the absolute peak of his basketball career, and I believe I saw Chris Corchiani (did he ever make it to the NBA?) of NC State.