I’ve been a fan of the Colorado Buffaloes since the age of five when my dad came home from a CU vs. Nebraska game with a brand-new Buffs football jersey for me. I’ve been riding the rollercoaster of Buffaloes fandom my whole life, relishing the highs of the 2012 Pac-12 basketball championship team and enduring the lows of the Karl Dorrell tenure.
Now, two decades later, I found myself in the middle of the storm that is March Madness. Last week, I traveled to Dayton and Indianapolis to cover my favorite team that I grew up cheering for. If I had told ten-year-old Ryland he’d get an opportunity like this, he would have lost his mind. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a tear at that moment.
Emotions aside, I had work to do in Indianapolis. I was there to cover the Buffs’ game against Florida. I got to the arena and settled into my courtside workstation on media row, fully unaware that I would get a front-row seat to Colorado basketball history.
Friday’s game against the Gators ended with a bang. CU’s point guard KJ Simpson ended the contest with a game-winning jump shot that sent the arena into a frenzy. Coincidentally, it also happened about 50 feet in front of my eyes.
I’ve been covering Colorado athletics for the better part of the last two years. I started as a writer for CU’s student newspaper and was lucky enough to get a job as a beat reporter covering the Buffs once I had graduated from CU Boulder last summer.
I covered the sheer insanity of Coach Prime throughout the 2024 season. I witnessed Shedeur Sanders take on the entire Nebraska team pregame with my own eyes and was ten yards away from all three touchdown passes that sealed Colorado’s comeback victory over CSU in September. I bring those up because none of those moments even comes close to my experience covering March Madness.
March Madness has garnered a reputation for being the most unpredictable sports championship in the world. The same applies to the journalists covering it. As soon as the bracket was announced, I blindly booked a round-trip flight to Dayton, Ohio. There, the Buffs were to play Boise State University in a play-in game for the right to truly make it to the tournament.
I caught my flight, witnessed Colorado squeak out an ugly victory over the Boise State University Broncos, and was fully prepared to head back to Denver. While wrapping up my post-game recap of the Buffs’ win, I was approached by CU basketball’s sports information director, who said he’d email me a press pass to the team’s next game against the Florida Gators in Indianapolis. I knew as a young journalist I had to jump on the opportunity, regardless of the logistics or expense.
I immediately changed my flight back to Denver, got a rental car and booked it to Indiana. Despite only operating on three hours of sleep, nothing would stop me. I had to haul ass so I could get to the team’s media availability to interview players. That was simply an opportunity for a killer story I couldn’t miss, so I had to gun it across state lines.
Thankfully, I made it in time and wrote one of my best stories to date, which will be an invaluable asset to me going forward in my career. Upon leaving Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse the night before the Buffs faced off against the Gators, the reality of my current situation hit me like a truck.
My professional demeanor was all a facade. I sat at the post-game press conference literally shaking in excitement, my heart racing a million miles per hour. I had just witnessed the single greatest moment in Colorado basketball history happen right in front of my eyes.
Unfortunately, the Buffs couldn’t get the job done on Sunday, as their season ended with a narrow defeat at the hands of the Marquette Golden Eagles. Normally I’d be sad in a moment like that, but I couldn’t help but feel vindicated. I had made it to Indiana and felt like I had officially taken the next step in my journalistic career.
The reporting I did in Indianapolis will be something I’ll forever use in my professional portfolio. I built relationships with many of the local Colorado media members, as well as a couple famous national sports writers. I’ll never forget breaking the news that thirteen-seed Yale upset four-seed Auburn to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde.
Most importantly, this experience will be something I’ll never forget. As a lifelong CU fan, spending those five days adventuring across the Midwest to follow my favorite team was a dream come true. I’ll get to tell my kids—who will absolutely grow up as Colorado fans, same as I did—that I was there for KJ’s game-winner.
Sometimes you have to take risks to accomplish great things. I took a huge risk spending a chunk of my savings to go and cover the Buffs’ journey through March Madness, but it paid off in spades. I hope my story can inspire young journalists like me to reach for the stars, just like I did.
