March Madness?

March 19, 2008, 6:00 pm; posted by
Filed under Articles, Connie, Featured  | 5 Comments

Few things interest me less than the spring frenzy surrounding college basketball. Despite the fact that I was 5\’11” all through high school (oh yeah — that was fun), basketball never interested me — until, that is, my daughters began to play.

My eldest daughter\’s team won a sectional title and made it to the regional state quarterfinals, the first team in school history to make it that far. As a senior the next year, Rose scored her 1500th point and her team was poised to go all the way, until they were knocked out by one point in their first, last and only loss of an amazing season. What a terrible disappointment. Nothing can bring me to laughter quicker than when one of my children is laughing — and nothing brings me to tears faster than when one of them is hurting. We mourned this death.

Three years passed and it\’s my other daughter’s senior year. Sarah’s team started the season with a one-point loss in a preseason tournament hundreds of miles away. (We couldn\’t go, but I was told it was so badly officiated that our kindly bus driver was thrown out of the game, yelling, “I’m going, I’m going! You probably can’t see me — you haven’t seen anything all night!”) They bounced back to go undefeated in their league, win a sectional championship, and become the first team in school history to make the state Final Four — winning 22 games in a row on the way. And if that wasn’t enough, our boys’ team did the same!

We all made it through the week somehow, amidst the media frenzy, parades and pep rallies. By the time we arrived in town, the boys had lost, but were sticking around to watch the girls play the next morning. There was even a rumor circulating that Job Tate might come to the game.

The day finally came — I couldn\’t sleep at all, although our room was amazing. After breakfast, Steve and his entourage swept through, and sure enough, who should make an appearance but Job himself, accompanied by MC-B, the Tate doubter in the flesh. We had no time to rekindle old debates, though; we jumped in our cars and dashed off to the arena.

As the game began, Job distracted the other team on the foul line with marriage proposals, while Steve questioned the integrity of the female official — who seemed to have more than a passing acquaintance with the opposing coach. We kept up fairly well that first quarter, but things went against us at every turn. Travels and fouls galore, while the other team could do no wrong — and even our layups and foul shots weren’t going down. Even Sarah\’s left-handed over-the-shoulder circus shot layup didn\’t go in, and that one always works.

But toward the end, down by 9, Sarah was fouled and went to the line. Of course, she made them both, and got the last word — as usual. Here\’s to a great season, you drama queen. I love you, baby girl.


Comments

5 Comments to “March Madness?”

  1. David on March 20th, 2008 2:53 pm

    Congratulations Sarah. An amazing season topped by a Job Tate appearence—what more could a girl want out of life?

  2. MC-B on March 20th, 2008 5:26 pm

    I remain skeptical.

  3. David on March 20th, 2008 5:33 pm

    You had your chance to place your fingers in the apendectomy scar and see for yourself…

  4. Sarizzle. on March 21st, 2008 1:57 pm

    Okay, we didn’t start the season with a loss. We won the first game of the tournament and lost the second… and they weren’t even pretty. Anyway, thanks for the write up. And sorry for not knowing who Job was… thanks for coming “Job”.

  5. Sarizzle. on March 21st, 2008 1:58 pm

    And to answer your quesion: a girl could want a state championship… or for softball to end as early as possible.

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