Capital One launches Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson blimps in San Antonio for Final Four

You’ve probably seen, whether on-air or during commercial breaks, a lot of Charles Barkley and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson so far during March Madness. That’ll continue into the Final Four in San Antonio next weekend as the two will take to the skies.

‘Capital One’ shared the release of a pair of blimps with Barkley and Johnson’s likenesses on them. That’s from part of their ‘Road Trip’ series of ads during the NCAA Tournament with one this year being titled as ‘Battle of the Blimps’.

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“The time is now: Find out who is the baddest blimp of all… and who is just full of hot air. #MarchMadness” the company’s caption read on social media.

Both blimps have already begun to fly above San Antonio ahead of the Final Four. That’s with this being the debut of the Magic Blimp after the Barkley Blimp first took flight last postseason when the event was in Glendale, Arizona.

If this is meant to be a bout between the two, Barkley is already in the lead after the Elite Eight. No. 1 Auburn, his alma mater and the top overall seed, eliminated No. 2 Michigan State, Johnson’s former school, on Sunday with a 70-64 win in Atlanta to clinch the South Region. The Tigers (32-5) will now be in the Final Four for the second time in school history after previously going six seasons ago. The Spartans (30-7) will then head home after their best season since their own last trip to the national semifinal, again, six seasons ago.

With that, this Final Four will be unlike any we’ve seen in almost two decades now. That’s with all four of the No. 1 seeds in Auburn, Duke, Houston, and Florida making it to the final weekend out of their respective reasons. The Tigers will play the Gators first in a rematch between the top two teams out of the SEC while the Blue Devils will then play the Cougars next in a game between the respective champions out of the ACC and Big 12.

2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: Updated matchups, results, schedule, TV

With the conclusion of the Elite Eight with matchups this weekend, the Final Four is set for next weekend in San Antonio. The schedule has now been announced for the two semifinal games to be played in the Alamodome on Saturday ahead of the national championship the following Monday.

Final Four – San Antonio

1. Auburn vs. 1. Florida
April 5 – 6:09 p.m. EST (CBS)

1. Duke vs. 1. Houston
April 5 – 8:49 p.m. EST (CBS)