Obviously, I take my college basketball very seriously. There was a time when I was between the ages of 5-6 years old when I actually (and believe me, it pains me to admit this) actually cheered for the Tarheels. I refer to those unfortunate years as the “black period” of my childhood.
The street I grew up on was all boys, and, I started playing ball so that I could fit in with them. In middle school, I started playing competitively and started going to basketball camps in the summer. I am not sure when exactly the light went off – that, hey, that Carolina blue color sure is ugly – but, nevertheless, my allegiance changed and I became a fervent Duke supporter. We started getting tickets to Duke games and then I started attending Coach K’s basketball camps. These were the years of Hurley, Laettener, G. Hill, T. Hill, etc and as it happened, all of those guys were around at the camps. Getting to meet them was pretty much the highlight of my childhood. Sure, I was into NKOTB and Kirk Cameron – but those basketball players, they were the ones I idolized.
When I went off to college – I happily made my way up to the mountains of Asheville where I hung out with all kinds of people and generally had a very happy 4 years as an undergrad. UNC-A though, for all of it’s strengths, had no real athletics department. I cheered for the Bulldogs and went to basketball games – but, at such a small liberal arts school, it just wasn’t the same. So, I remained a fierce Duke athletics supporter and still do.
When I first met Danny he was (admittedly) “not that into” sports. As things progressed – he was informed that if he intended to spend any kind of time with me during the season, he might as well accept the fact that we would be watching games. He hopped on the bandwagon – and except for the one time that he questioned Coack K’s decision making abilities and had to leave the condo – things have been going swimmingly since.
Anyhow, tonight Duke basketball is competing for it’s 4th NCAA title and I could not be more excited (and nervous) about this game. LET’S GO DUKE!
