SAN ANTONIO -- Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the face of Loyola-Chicago's miraculous run through the NCAA tournament, says the entire experience feels surreal.
"I think to myself, 'Oh my, don't let it go to your head,'" she said. "I haven't done that, nor has the team. The team, those young men, are very humble."
The 98-year-old nun, international icon and Loyola-Chicago chaplain held a news conference at the Final Four on Good Friday that was so packed, officials had to clear a path for her to enter. Outlets from around the country filled every seat, dozens of cameras were posted in the back of the room, and reporters lined the walls as she spoke.
Sister Jean said she has never had more fun. She talked about the interviews she has done from the Chicago campus that have been broadcast around the world and discussed the swell of new fans and the media frenzy.
And she said she looks forward to meeting Mary Belle Hicks -- a die-hard Michigan fan and 100-year-old grandmother of former Wolverines star Jalen Rose -- who predicted the end of Loyola-Chicago's run when the Ramblers face Michigan on Saturday.
"I saw her on Facebook the other day," Sister Jean said. "I also heard she said she's out to get me. We'll see. Somebody said, 'Maybe you need a pair of boxing gloves.' And I said, 'Well, we'll see what happens.' I hope we see each other. I hope we meet there. I love to meet people."
Sister Jean is also aware of her impact in this moment.
More than 10,000 Sister Jean bobbleheads have been sold, crushing the record previously established by a Clemson football bobblehead in 2016, according to Phil Sklar, co-founder of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, the company that produced the item for Loyola-Chicago.
Sklar's company has made enough money to take a long vacation, Sister Jean said.
"I'm not saying this in a proud fashion," she said. "The first bobblehead we gave away at a game against UW-Milwaukee, and this one is updated with different Rambler clothes. I think the company could retire."
Sister Jean also said she believes God is a basketball fan.
"He probably is," she said. "And he probably is a basketball fan, more of the NCAA than the NBA. ... I say that because these young people are playing with their hearts and not for any financial assistance."