I didn’t go anywhere for Spring Break, the weather in Ames sucked, and for most of the week, I was bored as hell. But unbelievably, I had one of the best spring breaks in history, or maybe I should say one of the best first weekends of Spring Break in history.

For the first time in my Daily career, I got to cover an actual live sporting event. And what an event: the first NCAA tournament games ever played in Ames.

I got to do all the fun reporter-type things: go to press conferences, eat free nachos, chex mix, pop and chips, and of course, watch the game from courtside seats.

But through the whole great experience, there was something missing: getting to be a fan. It was hard not to cheer when Megan Taylor made an unbelievable shot, when Jayme Olson powered in for a layup, when Stacy Frese buried a three-pointer or “boo” when the ref made a bad call. But of course, I couldn’t.

It would have been nice to be surrounded by other fans, to sit up high in the balcony and shout things at the refs. It would have been nice not to have to be “neutral” on the games. It would have been nice to have a fan’s perspective. But of course, I couldn’t.

So today, I will share the perspective of some of the more rabid fans that I know.

First, the story of the Ramaswamis. They gave up Spring Break in California to stay here and watch the games. Why? Because, according to Sridhar Ramaswami, “This is the first time our team, on the men’s or women’s side, is hosting an NCAA tournament, and we supported our team throughout. We could not justify going for a vacation when they were playing in a tournament.”

And what did they think of the games? “They were fascinating. I wish the final scores worked to our favor. But beyond that, the women played really, really well. We needed a few lucky bounces at the end,” he said.

Then you have my little sister. After being disconsolate midway through the second half of the Kent game, she was on cloud nine after the Cyclones rallied to win. But after the Rutgers’ game, she was inconsolable, sobbing for a good 10 minutes after the game and struggling with an emotional voice for the whole week.

I asked her to write out her feelings about the game, and here it is, with original spelling and punctuation:

“I thought the game was really exciting. Even though we lost I think we played great. I have to admit Rutgers played very well also. Megan Taylor just took over the game and carried us on her shoulders. Jamey Olson and Janelle Grimm really helped us on their layups and inside shooting. But Rutgers defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds were just to much for us. After Rutgers hit those free throws and we got the ball there were nine point three seconds to go we just couldn’t shoot. When the buzzer rang I started crying but as the players walked into the locker room everybody cheered.”

And, since it’s my column, I’ll give you my perspective as well. I had chills down my spine listening to the crowd at both the games. The first game: joy, elation and relief all came out in a long, sustained roar at the end of the game, and I loved every minute of it. I thought both Kent and ISU let it all out there, and the crowd appreciated it. The second Cyclone game was more moving to all, even though we lost.

As a fan, the crowd’s vociferous appreciation of this edition of the Lady ‘Clones thrilled me. It reminded me of a men’s game against Kansas a year ago.

The Cyclones battled the Jayhawks hard, but when it became clear that Dedric Willoughby’s 36 points were not going to carry us to victory, the crowd, instead of filing for the exits, started chanting I-S-U, I-S-U, for the final minutes of the game. And as a reporter, Bill Fennelly’s emotional statement at the postgame press conference moved me more than I ever thought I’d be by a press conference.

Most of the time you hear the standard spiel of “execute, tough game, great opponent, blah, blah, blah.” But not with Fennelly.

So once again, congratulations to the ISU women’s basketball team for the best season in school history, a Big 12 north division championship, getting to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and above all, handling it with the utmost dignity, grace and humor.

Jayadev Athreya is a junior in mathematics and computer science from Ames.