First and foremost I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Holiday Season from the Burgess Family and the BC Men’s Basketball team. This is a time for us all to enjoy our precious time with family and friends and be mindful of the true blessings which we do have.
Yes, we (the Basketball team) did make it back from Washington DC and NO, we did not get to San Juan. As I scheduled this San Juan trip last spring I was looking for an opportunity for my team to have a 1) “a team bonding” experience, 2) an educational trip, 3) play a few basketball games and 4) enjoy the 80 degrees weather. Well we were able to check off 3 of the 4 which are mentioned above with #4 not getting checked off the list. We were snowed in the Marriott Dulles Airport since Friday (Dec. 18th) which is a very nice hotel with all the amenities you could ask for as a traveler (indoor pool, Jacuzzi, full service restaurant, workout room, business center, etc.). Also, we were less than a ¼ of a mile from the Dulles Airport. We were most definitely able to bond as a team. From an educational view, 10 years from now the players will be able to say they were a part of the DC Blizzard of ’09 (as the Washington Post and other media outlets were calling this historic event), and they actually used a net and a floatation ring (“lifesaver”) as the basketball hoops in the indoor pool to play a competitive b-ball game.
I am very proud of the way my team carried themselves throughout the whole ordeal. The guys were very disappointed but I told them “that we can still make something good out of this trip, it is how you approach this situation at hand and we will approach it with a positive attitude”. I reminded them that we are fortunate enough to have a hotel with heat and with food because there were THOUSANDS at Dulles who did not have the “means” to get to a hotel or have food. The only accessible road on the Dec. 19 was the “loop” from the airport to the Marriott. The airport closed down which meant the kiosks and eateries were all closed.
I know the Bridgewater alums and BC Family would have been proud of them as well because the guys handled themselves in a “first class” manner at the hotel and became a “hotel favorite” of the thousands of folks staying at this hotel. The travel party had to wear one of two BC sweat suits during the entire stay because we all had packed our bags with items suitable for 80 degrees weather. As we walked thru the large lobby to our team meals down in the restaurant you would see the attention which the team attracted because of the way they handled themselves. Other families and business folks who were stranded as well at the hotel became very interested in BC and our program. I must say that the players were the “celebrities” of the hotel. As you walked past the other hotel guests you would hear them say “that is the Bridgewater College Men’s Basketball team that WAS going to San Juan”. Our guys made a very good first and lasting impression on the hotel staff (the manager complimented me on our guys’ attitude and professionalism) compared to other college teams which have stayed at this hotel in the past.
On Dec. 18 we departed the Bridgewater College campus en route to the Dulles Marriott for our flight was scheduled for 8 a.m. the next day. We had a scheduled bus departure of 3 am on the 19th but when the weather forecast was given we decided to go up the evening of the 18th so, we could be on the property of the airport with our hotel location. JP of Travel Mates was a “trooper” to get us to DC safe and sound as we traveled in the snow flurries. That evening we called American Airlines (AA) just to make sure our flight was still scheduled - everything was good.
Dec. 19th: Set the alarm for 4 am to call AA for the flight status – All Good. 4:15 a.m. the phone rang. It was Turner Travel Agency (Charles and Polly), who did an exceptional job of communicating and taking care of the necessary paper work for the refund. Charles had called to say he just checked with AA and the flight is a “go”. So, we got the travel party to our reserved shuttle bus for our 5 a.m. departure to the airport (checking in a group of 20 you want to be early). We checked our bags, headed to the gate B71 en route to SAN JUAN, PR departing at 8 a.m. - ON TIME. As we walked the concourse we looked at the departure screen and noticed that we were one of about 10 flights not in RED letters – CANCELLED. We noticed a few flights taking flight so our outlook was very positive as the snow was falling heavily from the sky.
We get to our gate and there is a plane setting and folks waiting to depart for a flight to Miami at 6:40 am departure – cool. As the time got near to 8 a.m. the Miami passengers were delayed as their plane received a cracked windshield with the cold weather while de-icing the plane. We thought we would still be in good shape until AA announced that the Miami passengers were going to take the next plane available - yes our plane to San Juan. By the time AA made this decision it was around 10:00 am and the snow was accumulating fast as the AA crew was trying to de-ice the plane.
Meanwhile we continued to check the departure screen and were getting updated delays (8:45, 9:15, 10:15, 11 am). It began to look bleak. However, the AA representative makes an announcement “all San Juan passengers we will scan your boarding passes and have you board at another gate, just a few gates down, because they had a plane that they were de-icing for us to take. Smiles on my players faces began to appear. Then, within an hour the Miami passengers, who had been sitting on the runway for more than an hour, were brought back to the terminal (gate 81). 20 minutes later (now 11:20 am) the letters came across the departure screen were now in RED – CANCELLED. ALL flights were about to be cancelled from Dulles.
I immediately called back to the Marriott to continue our stay for at least one more night for I knew it was going to be a “mad dash” for folks trying to get lodging. This was the only hotel accessible with a shuttle for the roads were not accessible outside of the “Airport loop”. You had thousands of folks stranded, folks sleeping on the baggage claim conveyer belt, making makeshift beds on luggage. It was something you would see in a scene from a movie. I wanted to make sure our travel party had a place to sleep and food to eat. I gathered the team and explained the best case and worst case scenario to them regarding our chances to get to San Juan. You could just see the disappointment on the faces of these young men – after all they did to raise or earn the money for this trip. Meanwhile, Turner Travel was working diligently and checking all options that might get us to San Juan. There was NOT one seat available on any flight to San Juan on the 20th, 21st or 22nd from Dulles, BWI, Pittsburgh, or JFK. The basketball classic ended on the 22nd. When I had booked our team flight several months ago I knew that all the flights were going to be booked fully or close to full capacity because so many tourists fly to San Juan to also catch the different cruise lines which depart from Puerto Rico.
By the time we get our luggage, get things squared away with AA, get a shuttle to the hotel it is now 1 p.m. The guys have been up since 4:30 a.m. They were tired and hungry. So, we ate at the hotel brunch buffet, met with the team, and let them return to their rooms to catch up on their sleep.
Dec. 20th: We were snowed in at the hotel. Guys kept themselves busy swimming, video games, eating, watching football and basketball games on TV. We were trying to get back to Bridgewater but we were unable to get a bus to Dulles as parts of I -81 and I – 66 were closed.
Dec. 21st: Quick’s Bus picked us up at 9:45 am and we were back on campus after noon to find our vehicles hidden beneath two feet of snow. The BC Buildings and Ground Crew brought the shovels and a tractor while Ben Spotts and the team shoveled the cars out - another BC team effort of working together to get things done. My concern was to get back to campus in a timely fashion because several of our guys still had several hours to drive to get to their homes.
I want to say thanks to everyone that helped make our trip a very memorable trip. It was a positive experience for our travel party even if we did not get to enjoy the 80degrees weather. It will be a trip to talk about for years to come. Thanks to Turner Travel, Travel Mates and Quick’s Bus Companies, and the BC administrators (Curt Kendall / Roy Ferguson) for being supportive and keeping the lines of communication open as we were stuck in the DC Blizzard of ’09.
Lastly, thanks to the adults who got to participate in this travel experience as it took a “team effort” to keep these youngsters upbeat. Alvin Green (assistant coach), Scott Powers (Athletic Tranier),Stephanie Burgess and Mr. Charles Jordan (Segar’s dad) were also snowed in.
We will return to practice on Dec. 30th in preparation for an ODAC game at Va. Wesleyan on Jan. 2. We return to Nininger Hall on Jan. 4th to play Randolph-Macon.
Happy Holidays!!
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)