We've all been there. You book a flight during one of your favorite team's sporting events, hoping and praying that you'll still get to watch on the plane. However, plane televisions and WiFi are about as reliable as a Saudi Prince in your email inbox.
One Xavier basketball fan by the name of Renée Stoeckle found this out the hard way over the weekend when she attempted to watch the top-seeded Muskateers take on Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on a Southwest Airlines flight.
Unfortunately for Renée, Southwest's WiFi couldn't support her mission to stream the game, leaving her in the dark when it came to the action on the court. But that WiFi was strong enough to allow her to tweet her complaint to the airline's official account -- you know, as one does.
Paid $8 for wifi on @SouthwestAir and it isn't strong enough to stream March Madness 😫😫 Hold down the fort for me, @XavierMBB ...
— Renée Stoeckle (@renstoeckle) March 19, 2018
Usually when you tweet a complaint at a big brand's account, you'll get a canned response apologizing and telling you to seek additional communication so the company can further assist you with your problem. However, what Renée got back wasn't the usual response.
What she got was "Mike" from Southwest, and Mike rules at his job. Not only did Mike provide an explanation for why Renée wasn't able to stream the game, he also gave her an update on the game. Clutch.
Sorry to disappoint, Renée. Please know we limit access to certain high bandwidth applications and websites. That said, you're up 34-32 at the half. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
That's when Renée decided to throw up a prayer in hopes of getting additional updates.
Thanks, Mike. Any chance you can live tweet the second half for me?
— Renée Stoeckle (@renstoeckle) March 19, 2018
Surely there was no way Mike could actually provide her with live updates, at least not from the airline's official account...right? Wrong! As you know... THIS IS MARCH, and improbable prayers get answered during this time of year.
Gotcha. -Mike pic.twitter.com/l08mzXv8Qd
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Mike spent the majority of the second half watching the Xavier-Florida State game and delivered constant updates to Renée so that she didn't have to suffer from FOMO in the clouds. And while that incredible act of customer service likely seemed like a blessing for Renée, the updates kept getting worse as Xavier lost a grip on their lead over the Seminoles.
Goodin with a steal and a big dunk to go up six. 40-34 -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Macura and Goodin both getting in foul trouble with four a piece. 8:30 to go. Xavier up 61-50. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Seminoles making a run. Two and contact going to the line. 4:21 to go. Xavier up 66-63. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Tie game. 68 all. 2:14 to go. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Seminoles for three! First lead all half. 71-70 Seminoles. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
21.6 to go. Xavier inbounding down three. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Florida State with the comeback. 75-70 final. -Mike
— Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) March 19, 2018
Ultimately, the game didn't go the way she had hoped and Xavier was handed a devastating upset loss, but at least she got the chance to follow along while in the air. (We'll ignore the fact that she could have just used the plane's WiFi to check in on live updates from CBS Sports dot com.)
At the very least, she can be glad that she flew Southwest Airlines, a company that employs a hero named Mike.
@XavierMBB may have lost tonight, but I still get to crown the #MVP. Shoutout to Mike at @SouthwestAir, the true winner of #MarchMadness
— Renée Stoeckle (@renstoeckle) March 19, 2018