Adios Mexico

Dec. 22, 2001

Cancun, Mexico -- Days have dwindled to hours, and soon hours to minutes as the Wolfpack prepare to leave this Mexican hotspot. Two losses in two days have the Pack wanting the bus to the airport to leave ASAP.

It's been an incredible trip. Somehow waking up to booming music at 5:00am in my apartment complex in North Raleigh won't quite compare to awakening to the docile sound of waves crashing ashore on the gorgeous beaches. Opening my blinds to the view of an adjacent building will also pale to opening the blinds here at the hotel to the bluest of blue waters begging you to swim. The 75-degree nighttime walks under clear skies will also yield to a chilled 30-degree, frost-filled night back in Raleigh. Life will go on.

That will be the case for the Pack basketball team as well, but it's going to be an arduous journey. It already has been. The Pitt Panthers made it a clean sweep over the Wolfpack this week after a 34-19 win over Chuck Amato's football team in the Tangerine Bowl, the Panthers dropped N.C. State spiraling to its fifth straight loss 82-65. During the meeting prior to the tournament, it was said to the three head coaches that one team would leave Mexico 0-and-2. Kay Yow just never dreamed it would be hers. In the first half, the game wasn't pretty, although it was deadlocked 34-34 at the break. In the second half, though, the Panthers dropped eight three-pointers on the heads of the Pack and pulled away to a comfortable win. Suddenly now, the Pack sits 6-5 with ACC play opening next Sunday at Wake Forest, and this trip has yielded more questions and doubts than it answered.

The team flies out first thing Sunday morning, and then will scatter for the Christmas holiday. It's a break that I think everyone is looking forward to - hoping to cleanse the palette, rededicating themselves to the program, while gearing up for the conference season.

The day started early with a shootaround at the arena at 9:30, then the pre-game meal at 11:45. Following the game, the bus dropped off the team at the hotel, and the players were given their meal money, and were on their own. The coaches and support staff went down the road to Outback Steakhouse, lamented over the game for a bit, then cheered up exchanging stories about years gone by, hoping to gleen a few more positives than a few hours before. The food was typical for Outback, and the group of 11 us waited a good hour following the meal to have the wait-staff divide up the bill individually. This normally wouldn't cause such a stir, but factoring in the language barrier, a combination of payment in both pesos and dollars, community appetizers, desserts, etc., you can see the problems! It took four powers huddled around a touch-computer at Outback to straighten the check out, but finally our "three-hour tour" was complete.

Most of the team is planning on a) going to sleep early or b) not sleeping at all in order to be ready for the 4:10am bus ride to the airport. Our flight leaves at 7:05am, and with the Panthers on the same originating flight from Cancun, we're taking the first bus from the hotel to avoid major congestion at customs on our way home.

We're scheduled to land in Raleigh around 2:30pm, but that's not the end of travel plans for most. After dropping off the equipment at Reynolds, many will be returning right back to RDU to make a late Sunday flight wherever home is to meet up with family for the holiday. The team will report back to Raleigh on the 27th for practice.

Memorable Quirks Of Cancun:

Before I leave, here are some quick hits about what things I'll miss, and some oddities I've noticed while running around Cancun the past few days:

I'll miss the breakfast buffets at the Chulavista Ristorante. Open daily from 6:30am-12:00pm, Annabel from Acapulco made the perfect omelets every day, and was at the cooking station every hour of every day. By the final day, she knew my order - bacon, cheese and green peppers!

The favorite car model down here seems to be the Volkswagen Beetle - the OLD one. It's the most compact of compact cars, and it was awfully rare to find any cars with four doors. The roads are quite narrow here, so it's much easier to get around.

Anyone wandering around the pool area during the sunlight hours could have received a free five-minute massage. The Spa (that's what it's actually called at the hotel) set up a massage press next to the pool and employees were rubbing people down throughout the day. Most of the Pack had at least one. According to the Spa personnel, they administered about 75 per day.

Domino's Pizza does exist, and it does deliver. However it delivers on mopeds? Again with the smaller streets, it's easier to get around, so they stick the pizzas in a warming box above the back tire and tool around in 30 minutos or less!

ESPN Deportes is alive and well in Cancun. The new arm of ESPN catering to the Central and South American public has found a home on our hotel programming.

I won't miss the 7 pesos per local call to access email, nor will I miss the $3.95 per hour AOL charge for their local phone number in Cancun!

The Christmas spirit is mildly evident here, although eating fajitas at Iguana Wana the other night with live music, Jingle Bells played by a waiter on the "fluta" just isn't the same as Burl Ives.

Brittany Spears has the number #1 CD in Mexico. Enough said.

I won't miss the bus drivers here. If you have one body limb inside the bus, you're considered "in". Hang on. Also, muchachos, try the brakes. They're on the left!!!!!!!

And Barney the Dinosaur in Spanish just isn't the same. Something's lost in the translation.

Well, that's about it from here. I'm one of the people actually trying to get some sleep before we head out, although LuAnne Underhill is trying to start a marathon game of Catch Phrase to last until the bus leaves!

I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse into our trip to Cancun. It is one I won't soon forget! Merry Christmas, all!

North Carolina State University Athletics

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