Yes, the weather was great and the grass is returning to its spring green, but by backyard I mean Kemper Arena.

Who could ask for a better basketball treat?

Tonganoxie to the Kansas City, Mo., venue was so effortless Friday when I made the short jaunt for NCAA tournament action.

Although I couldn’t attend early games involving Oklahoma State vs. Eastern Washington and Memphis vs. South Carolina, I did watch the Providence-Pacific game before gearing up for the Kansas-UIC nightcap.

No sporting event really can top the tournament. The trip marked the third time in four years I’ve had the opportunity to see the tournament.

This year, however, was different. In 2001 I made jaunt to San Antonio for regionals, as was the case in 2002 in Madison, Wisc. But this year for subregionals, there were no worries about transportation, lodging or time missed from work.

Last weekend was about experiencing all that energy without losing too much grip from the wallet. Unlike those two trips, a Final Four berth wasn’t potentially waiting at the end of the weekend, but it still was a heckuva weekend.

It was nine years since the Jayhawks played NCAA Tournament games in Kemper Arena and it could be an even longer drought in the future.

Much talk has centered around Kemper no longer being a site because it’s not much of a sight.

The aging arena has had a facelift in recent years, but it’s no longer much of a calling card for the tournament. Therefore, if we plan to see KU playing this close to home again, the metro likely will need to build a new arena to attract future NCAA regional games.

With that in mind, let’s take a gander at what made last weekend special — even the games were at Kemper:

Atmosphere

The arena might not be the most aesthetically pleasing and some parking and roads around the structure aren’t much better, but the city still put on a pretty good show.

On my way to meeting up with friends at an oversized tent in the Golden Ox restaurant parking lot, I could feel the postseason pushing its way through my veins. The KU band was playing, fans were cheering and tip-off of the KU-UIC game was approaching in a few hours.

Seat upgrade

Our seats Friday were a few rows from the rafters behind one of the baskets. It was a hefty hike up to the seats, but still a fine spot to watch a game.

However, two friends who purchased their tickets about a year ago were about five rows from those VIP seats behind the same basket.

The crowd for the Providence-Pacific game was sparse enough that the early-bird friends had vacant seats in their row. Thus, for a game I had an ideal vantage point, certainly the closest for any game I’d attended as a spectator.

As the Kansas game approached, fans started to file in and we had to move. But before heading back to the upper deck, we located a Missouri fan leading “I-U-C” chants, not to be confused with “N-I-T.”

Other Big 12 Conference fans without a team in the tournament came from Iowa State, although they didn’t appear to have the same ulterior motives as the Mizzou booster. Some Oklahoma State fans chimed in with the Missouri supporter, but another Cowboy fan in the upper deck wore a