Scene & Heard from the Final Four: Show’s time, a trip to Fanfest; starpower; and a stirring anthem

San Diego State managed to get this Show on the road.

Members of The Show, San Diego State’s student section, were flown to Houston from San Diego on Friday afternoon. Their chartered flight allowed for 175 students to fly for free; the rest received travel vouchers. The trips were paid for by San Diego State and the Associated Students association.

Show leaders Tito Hernandez and Chase Osborn were up by 8 a.m. Saturday — early by the students’ standards, given that it was 6 a.m. Pacific — and in their seats, screaming and leading cheers, two hours before tipoff.

“We have a little fire in us, ready to go, ready to win this thing,” Osborn

said pregame.

The Show’s iconic cardboard cutouts stayed at home because of sign limits at NRG Stadium. Instead, the student section received corporate swag: mini-foam fingers, pom-poms and free pizza from Pizza Hut.

SDSU’s program clearly feeds on The Show’s energy. In a span of 90 seconds Saturday, Osborn managed to flag down and bro-hug Aztecs assistant coach Dave Velasquez and radio voice Ted Leitner. Both seemed genuinely excited to see The Show so well-represented iat NRG Stadium.

Leitner’s call

San Diego sports fans might want to save this on their phone.

Longtime Aztecs play-by-play broadcaster Ted Leitner’s call of Lamont Butler’s game-winning shot went as follows:

“GOOD. GOOD. GOOD. GOOD. They’re storming the court. They’re storming the court. Who’s going to the championship game? Not FAU. No, no, no. The San Diego State Aaaaaaaaztecs are going to the NCAA Championship game on Monday. How about them Aztecs? How about them boys?”

Leitner, 75, is making his first trip to the Final Four this week. Monday, he’ll call the national championship game.

Golf break

FAU was leading San Diego State with 3:30 left in the first half when CBS analyst Grant Hill rose from his rolling chair grabbed a golf club and began to work on his putting.

As fellow broadcaster, Jim Nantz and Bill Raftery watched, Hill — the former Duke and NBA star — rolled a few into a blue Powerade cup turned on its side.

Jim Nantz

(Ryan Finley / U-T)

Fanfest

We walked to the George R. Brown Convention Center on Saturday morning to check out Final Four Fanfest. Similar to Fanfests at other major sporting events — think the 2016 MLB All-Star Game in San Diego — the Final Four event allowed fans to try their hand at various games, take pictures and shop.

Corporate sponsors were everywhere. A Capital One-sponsored booth featured mock candle scents including “Eau de Nantz,” “Lucky Socks” and “Sweat.” Nearby stood a cardboard cutout of Nantz with the a sign that said “I smell divine.”

Take away the event’s freebies — Coke Zero in a mini-glass, Powerade shots and rally towels — and the fanfest is probably best known for its celebrity pop-ins and massive team shop. There, fans can buy a wide array of San Diego State and Final Four-branded gear, from cups and koozies to higher-end quarter-zips, polos and vests from brands like Tommy Bahama, Johnnie-O and Peter Millar. (Cost: between $130-$180).

The Final Four Fanfest is open Sunday from noon-8 p.m. and Monday from noon-6 p.m. Tickets for Monday are $10, with seniors, military and students half off. Kids under 12 are free.

Hall pass

Who says this year’s Final Four lacks star power?

Former NBA stars Dwyane Wade, Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki were honored alongside their Naismith Hall of Fame induction class at halftime of San Diego State’s game. The inclusion of the NBA stars, along with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and former Spurs assistant Becky Hammon, now with the WNBA’s Reno Aces, brought the Texas-based crowd to its feet.

Other inductees: Junior college coaching legend Gene Bess; former NBA standout Pau Gasol; Division III coach David Hixon; former Purdue coach Gene Keady; former women’s basketball coach Gary Blair; the 1976 U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team; and former national champion coach and television analyst Jim Valvano.

Music to our ears

Our impression after two days in Houston: It’s huge, diverse and a haven for music fans.

Take Friday; Megan Thee Stallion headlined the AT&T Final Four Block Party downtown. Down the street, Lyle Lovett performed the national anthem before the Astros-White Sox game, accompanied by a stand-up bass.

New Edition performed at the Toyota Center on Saturday night, while Lil Nas X and Maggie Rogers played Discovery Green Park. Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Little Big Town and Mickey Guyton are playing Sunday at Discovery Green.

Prefer songs about basketball? G. Love and Special Sauce, a 1990s bluesy rap act whose hits include “Shootin’ Hoops” and a song about the Philadephia 76ers, plays Sunday night at the White Oak Music Hall.

However ...

We’re not sure any of the acts could have topped the quartet who sang the national anthem before Saturday’s early game. One student-athlete from each of the four participating schools was chosen to sing a part of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” with golfer April Ranches representing San Diego State.

A San Diego native who attended Serra (now Canyon Hills) High School, Ranches sang the second line, then harmonized the final few lines with the other singers. Stirring.

Owlsley

San Diego State’s mascot history is complicated. Florida Atlantic’s is not.

FAU is repped by Owlsley, a walkaround red owl who, for reasons known only to the other birds, wears a massive gold rope-chain around his neck.

FAU appears all-in on the Owlsley front. The classes of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 pooled their money erect a statue of the mascot outside their campus rec center. Among those to visit the statue is Carrot Top, the famed comedian and a 1989 graduae of FAU’s College of Business.

He said it

“Look mom. I’m on TV!”

-- A sign held from the first row of The Show during Saturday’s game.

He (also) said it

“When Kawhi Leonard gives you a jersey, you wear it.” -- Padres manager Bob Melvin, who sported a San Diego State jersey at Petco Park earlier Saturday. The gear was a gift from Leonard, the former Aztecs star now with the Los Angeles Clippers. Also wearing an Aztec jersey on Saturday: Rockies manager Bud Black, a former Aztec and longtime supporter.