Law School Alternatives to Final Four Madness

Louisville has succumbed to basketball madness this weekend due to the Final Four matchup between U of L and UK in New Orleans. Plenty of law students have made the trip south for the game, and those who are staying here are taking a siesta from final exam preparation. This got me thinking: what are the best ways to pass the time for a Louisville law student outside of spectator sports? Lately, the options seem bountiful. I won't list them all, but if you're thinking about going to law school here in the River City, you can rest assured there will be plenty of diversions. I'm focusing on recreation in this list, since I've written about local nightlife in this post and this one and this one in the past.

1. Join a team. For a small law school, we have a bunch of intramural teams and other athletic clubs. I recently took a spot on the law school's IM soccer squad, cleverly named Brandeisliga. We've also had basketball and football squads (my all-time favorite name: "The Bottom 90 Percent"), and our school's softball team left today for a national law school softball tournament at the University of Virginia.

2. Toss a disc, play some pong. The school hosted a fun Frisbee competition this week on the lawn in front of the law building. Teams of students and professors (including the dean) participated, with the winners getting gift cards. Another perennial favorite if your free time is limited (always the case for law students) is the ping pong table in the law school's basement (see my amazing photo, above, of actual U of L law students playing actual pong).

3. Watch the ponies. The spring meet at Churchill Downs is less than a month away, and the track itself is just a few blocks from the law school.

4. Walk, run, or bike. I've been trying to ride a bike to class lately (I live about five miles from campus) and it's been surprisingly easy. Louisville is not always the friendliest place to be a cyclist, but there are a decent number of bike lanes. This also is the running season for the city, with the Papa John's 10-Miler coming up tomorrow and the city's miniMarathon taking place in late April. Louisville also plays host to the Ironman in August (well beyond my capacity as an athlete, but fun to watch).

5. Parking it. Spring is the best season of the year in our neck of the woods. Redbuds and cherry trees are blooming, and unless you have allergies the city's many parks are a great place to spend time. My favorites: Cherokee Park in the Highlands, Jefferson Memorial Forest in the south end, and Waterfront Park downtown.