The return of Tom Cruise to the big screen as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick could be influencing a return to one of the more iconic college basketball locales in recent history. According to tweets from both Jon Rothstein and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Gonzaga and Michigan State could be looking at reviving the now defunct carrier games from over a decade ago.
The first game played on an aircraft carrier took place November 11, 2011 on the USS Vinson in San Diego as part of ESPN’s Carrier Classic. North Carolina defeated Michigan State in that game as President Barack Obama looked on. Four more games were scheduled the following year in the same fashion, but only two were played to completion thanks to condensation on the court caused by drops in the outside temperature.
Now, Gonzaga’s Mark Few and MSU’s Tom Izzo want to bring them back.
Can confirm what @JonRothstein just put out there: Gonzaga and Michigan State are in the process of trying to revive the "college hoops game on an aircraft carrier” era. Sources say that plans are optimistic at this stage but the game is not finalized. Still hurdles to clear.
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) June 14, 2022
It's unclear at this stage just how many times Mark Few and Tom Izzo have seen Top Gun Maverick, and whether it took multiple viewings or just one for Izzo to see Tom Cruise back on the flight deck before uttering, "We're putting our team back on one of those ships, dammit."
— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) June 14, 2022
Condensation won’t be the only environmental concern to consider, either. The 2012 game between Syracuse and San Diego State featured a pesky wind that impacted shooting.
Either way, as someone that was a naval aviator and has seen Maverick more times than you can count on one hand, I say DO IT.
