Blue bloods descending on New Orleans for Final Four means green for local economy

This is not the American Revolution and the red coats of the British are not coming.

This is the Final Four and the blue bloods are coming.

After all the big upsets, and there were many, and after three of the four No. 1 seeds went out prior to the Elite Eight, basketball royalty rose back to within a step of the throne once again.

When the smoke cleared, the basketball elite of Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Villanova punched their tickets to The Big Easy and did so in easy fashion Sunday as Kansas pummeled Miami in the second half in a 76-50 thrashing and North Carolina dominated from start to finish in a 69-49 win over upstart St. Peter’s in a game that was never a game.

On Saturday, it was not as easy for Duke and Villanova.

The Blue Devils downed Arkansas 78-69 while Villanova held off Houston 50-44.

The matchups are set with Villanova set to battle Kansas and the ACC rivalry of Duke and North Carolina set for renewal for the first time ever in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels lead the all-time series 142-115.

The winner of the last three NCAA tournament games between Kansas and Villanova went to win the national championship.

The end result of this past weekend’s results is you have a Final Four of programs which all have all won multiple championships.

In fact, none of the four teams has won less than three titles.

The four powerhouse programs have won 17 titles total.

In using the term blue bloods, it applies in more ways than one.

All four teams coming to New Orleans feature blue as a primary color so we can expect to see a wave of blue here in our midst over the next week, whether Navy, Royal, or Columbia blue in shade.

North Carolina has claimed six titles, including two memorable ones here in New Orleans in what is now the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. UNC won most recently in 2017.

In 1982, the Tar Heels edged Georgetown 63-62, thanks to a 17-foot jumper by a freshman named Michael Jordan which I covered and witnessed courtside.

In 1993, North Carolina prevailed 77-71 over Michigan as the Fab Four famously tried to call a timeout which did not exist, sealing the deal in a game which I covered and witnessed courtside.

The Tar Heels won once under Frank McGuire, twice under Dean Smith and three times under Roy Williams.

None of the other teams have won a title in the Crescent City.

Duke has captured five titles, winning most recently in 2015. All have come under Mike Krzyzewski.

Kansas has captured three championships, winning most recently in 2008. The three titles came under three different coaches in Phog Allen, Larry Brown and current coach Bill Self.

Villanova has also won three titles, winning most recently in 2018. Rollie Massimino won the first title in memorable fashion over heavily favored Georgetown in 1985 before current coach Jay Wright captured the last two championships.

The presence of these storied programs means there will be a huge, massive presence of fans from the four programs descending on New Orleans.

In college basketball today, you can make the argument that these are the four most prominent programs with the largest, most prominent fan bases not named Kentucky, another team that wears blue.

You cannot have everyone here.

To illustrate how much in demand tickets will be with the presence of four elite programs, all ticket hubs have the cost of a ticket ranking as the highest ever for a Final Four and by a wide margin.

As a result, the draw for New Orleans and the region could not be any better.

Hotel rooms will be full.

Restaurants will be full.

Tourist attractions will attract thousands.

The French Quarter will be bursting at its seams.

Some loathe the blue bloods of college basketball, particularly LSU fans these days who feel their program was targeted while others received either a slap on the wrist (Kansas, North Carolina) and another has been virtually ignored (Duke) for either obvious, perceived or implied NCAA violations.

Those fans are seeing red, fired up about the haves once again prevailing over the have-nots of college basketball.

For our region, it is a good thing, as the invasion of the blue bloods will simply mean green for the region, always welcome in a struggling economy.