Friday, March 19, 2004
By Brian C. Rittmeyer
Jason Burik's road
to the Final Four is paved with plastic.
Plastic Lego blocks,
that is.
The NCAA hired
Burik, a Montour School District teacher, to build Lego replicas of
NCAA and corporate sponsor logos that will be displayed at Hoop City
fan events April 2-5 in San Antonio, site of the men's Final Four,
and April 3-5 in New Orleans, where the women's Final Four will be
held.
About 6,000 Legos will go into building two sets of logos for the
NCAA, the Final Four portion of the tournament and sponsors
Coca-Cola, Cingular and Pontiac. Burik will build the logos on-site
in New Orleans for the women's NCAA basketball tournament
Burik obtained his highest-profile job so far
by making a pitch to the NCAA. His local work has included replicas
of PNC Park, Heinz Field and the new David L. Lawrence Convention
Center.
Burik, 26, of Robinson, hopes his
tournament appearance will help Burik Model Design, the business he
started after graduating from college in 2001.
"It's a big stage to be on," Burik said
while snapping together orange and black bricks to build the
basketball in the men's tournament logo.
The Lego Co. knows of about 20 adult Lego
builders like Burik nationwide, although there could be many more,
said Jake McKee, Lego's global community development manager in
Dallas. He said he's often amazed by the builders.
"We talk about how you can build anything
with Lego, and they're the ones who go out there and prove it," he
said. Burik began working with Legos at age 7, and he kept up
with the hobby as he got older and his friends no longer considered
it cool. "I never gave in to peer pressure," he said. Burik
played basketball in high school and college. "I hope Pitt
makes it to the Final Four," he said.
Burik met his wife, Kathy, in 1997 at the
University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she played on the
women's basketball team. At their wedding, their cake topper was
made of Legos. "It sounds funny to have an adult playing with
Legos," Kathy Burik said, "but what he does with it is amazing."
Brian C. Rittmeyer can be reached at
brittmeyer@tribweb.com
or (724) 779-7108
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