Non-Falcon Basketball Memories of Anderson Arena

We are coming up to the final days of Anderson Arena, and I have been procrastinating writing a piece that captures what the place has meant to me.  I want it to capture what I feel...and it isn't easy without being too goofy.  So, for the first part, I'm just going to play some pepper.  Anderson Arena has been a huge part of my life, and many of those things are not related to Falcon basketball.  Here are some memories I have of Anderson Arena that are not Falcon related.

• Hearing Peter Paul and Mary perform on parent's day.  (They also were performing in BG the night LBJ said he wasn't running for re-election, which was a celebratory moment, I understand).
• Hearing Mark Russell perform--very funny.  To keep the show from being too anti-establishment, Miss Ohio sang to open the show and referred to her family as "cute as Christmas."
• I heard Bill Niehaus speak at Buckeye Boys State about his days (months...years) as a hostage in Venezuela.
• I had badminton class in there when I was a student at BG.  I lived a couple of hundred yards away, and the class started at 8:30.  I typically rolled out of bed at 8:28 and made it to Anderson by 8:30.  The class was taught by Mickey Cochrane.
• I attended Dan Dakich Father-Son basketball camp with my 1st grade son.  It was approximately the temperature of a pizza oven in there, and we played a half court game that nearly caused me to need one of these, although I did make two baskets, and Dakich yelled at me once for not feeding the post.
• I attended an August graduation.  It is quite possible I have never been hotter.  I was supposed to video tape her getting her degree, but between dehydration-based hallucinations (in which Paul Olscamp actually ate a graduate) and the mispronunciation of her Chinese name, I missed her.  So it was all worth it.
• My Dad and I saw the Globetrotters and then I took my son to see the Globetrotters.
• I was at a Napoleon-Willard Regional Final game.  That was the loudest the House Ever Roared, in my opinion.  Napoleon had future Rockets Tim Reiser and Barry Sonnenberg, and Willard had future Miami Redskin John Willoughby.  Half the Arena was in Red and Half was in Blue, and they all screamed pretty much the whole time.  I actually forget who won.
• Right after Scott Hamilton won the gold medal he was coming to BG for his Cancer show.  I stood in line for a bunch of people for eight hours only to have the final tickets sold to someone three spots in front of me in line.  I spent the day (literally) talking to Stu Givens.  Red Auerbach was the basketball coach at his HS.