Article does not fully cover rigors of making the Final Four journey

I need to express my concern for Alicia A. Caldwell's article, "Fans run into roadblocks on the way to the final four" in Wednesday's Arizona Daily Wildcat. One, why are there no quotes from students going to the game? In fact, there is not one single quote from a fan AT ALL! Ms. Caldwell, seemingly, did not take any time to find out what the students, like myself, are really going through to get to Indianapolis this weekend. Personally, after being laughed at by airline reservationists and being told "our cars don't go that far for drivers under 25" by rental car services I have finally decided to drive one of my own family's cars to the game.

This, consequently, is where the article introduced another failure. Where did Ms. Caldwell get 1686 miles as the distance to Indianapolis? All it takes is a call to AAA to find out that it is, in fact, closer to 1740 miles to Indianapolis (taking interstates-and don't even think about taking state highways to save time because it won't!). The significant difference in mileage adds at least another hour of driving time. Moreover, this is where another blatant flaw is introduced into the article. The distance,1686 miles, divided by 50 mph is 33.72 hours (not 32 hours as stated in the article). These two errors make Ms. Caldwell's estimates at least two and a half hours incorrect.

Other concerns about the article include the loss of two hours when driving east which is not even mentioned. Also, Ms. Caldwell makes no attempt to explain what it takes to average 50 mphr on a 1700 mile road trip. Honestly, I do not know either; and, at this point I am getting picky. I do, however, feel that I have made my point. Ms. Caldwell did not do justice to the "real fans" facing "real roadblocks" on the way to the final four. If she wants to know she can contact me before 5 p.m. on Thursday night at which time this "real fan" is headed for Indianapolis.

And one more thing: Cinderella? MY A**!!

By Noel Salt (letter)
Arizona Daily Wildcat
March 31, 1997