So long Appleton

The journey home begins. After clearing the field this afternoon and the postgame media obligations were taken care of the team straggled out to the parking lot and one final tailgate put on by our wonderful hosts Dave and Kevin. Since we aren't flying out until tomorrrow morning, the guys got the chance to spend some time with their family and friends who made the trek out to Wisconsin. We headed back to the hotel eventually to shower and pack before dinner.

We're scheduled to fly out of Milwaukee at a little after 6 am Monday. So the decision was made to leave Appleton tonight and spend the night in a hotel near the airport instead of leaving Appleton at 1:30 am to make the two-hour trip to Milwaukee. So we packed up and headed out for dinner about 6:15 to go over to Famous Dave's for BBQ. We had yet another good meal, ending of course with ice cream and the singing of happy birthday to pitcher Greg Harbeck.

And with that, our stay in Appleton is complete. We loaded up the bus and headed to Milwaukee about 8:30. It wasn't the ending we were hoping for, but to get to this point in the season and be one of just six teams in the nation still playing is a remarkable feat. Congratulations guys! It was a heck of a year and I'm gonna miss you! Best of luck in your future endeavors.

I also want to give a special thanks to the parents, siblings, friends, alumni and parents of alumni that made the trip to Appleton. Thank you and it was great to see you all. It says alot about a coach and his program to see so many former players and their families come back. Safe travels to everyone and hopefully we'll see you again soon.

Check back tomorrow for links to photo galleries. My apologies for not getting the chance to post them throughout the weekend.

Thanks for listening to my thoughts on the weekend. Happy Memorial Day everyone.