This past Friday, I attended the a District Final basketball game between Novi Catholic Central and Novi High School in a packed gym at Novi High. It was an awesome atmosphere as CC came from behind for a 4 point victory.

Bernie Fratto has written an outstanding piece on Novi.org about the game and other related issues. His observations during the past several weeks have been right on.

A few observations about the game:

Best Cheer - During the game, the extremely vocal CC student section had some excelent cheers. But the one I remember the most came from the Novi side - “We have girls” made me laugh and briefly quieted the CC guys.

Mike Martin - I like to sit in the front row near mid-court to watch folks during the game and have plenty of space (I am not a small guy). Before the game, Michigan bound CC football player and defending 285 state wrestling champion Mike Martin walked past me. This guy is an impressive human being!! At about 6′2″, 260, he has a thick and massive body and I predict we will see him in the NFL after a great career at Michigan.

Thrown Items - During the game, I only saw two things thrown on the floor. After a tough call, a cowboy hat flew out of the stands. The official handed to my wife and she gave it to a school administrator. At the end of the game, somebody threw a banana at the CC bench from Novi side. One of the assistants picked it up and looked disgusted.

Post game - As I was leaving the game, I had a chance to chat with one of the CC assistance coaches. I congratulated him on a great game and we talked about the electric atmosphere and how much fun it must have been for the kids. He was a classy guy.

Awesome night of HS sports.