Thursday, April 22, 2010

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The team everyone loves to hate except me

DUKE!!!! "Why" you ask....where do I begin?

I guess in the 7th grade. Gym class...running up and down the halls when the weather was too lousy for outdoor gym. I can still visualize that hallway with the ramp off to the side, going either to the cafeteria or maybe loading dock...Charlotte Middle School; 7th grade; I was very white and pretty athletic (an urban coach's, well I won't say "dream" but...you might get the idea). So, there I was running my laps for gym and apparently caught my gym teacher's attention Ms. LM. I was "recruited" to play basketball!! Short little me, yes, I am right on the border of petite, playing basketball! Okay, okay, I did win a couple of trophies in elementary school: "Super 7 Shootout". (Yes, I still have those!) On with the story. I had never played b-ball before, never even watched a game. So, what did I do...that weekend or sometime thereabouts, I watched my first basketball game from start to finish; it happened to be a college game. Guess which team was playing and guess who won! You got it: Duke. As my memory serves (not so accurately as people know), I recall that it was Duke vs. UNC and Duke won, so - since the 7th grade Duke has been my favorite team.

So, all you Duke-haters out there...so be it! They are my favorite, I am a life-long fan...not some winning team only kind of favorite. I have watched them through winning and losing, National Championships and (one in particular) really really poor season - the year Coach K had his back issues, 1996ish...So, you may hate Duke (you're just jealous) but don't knock me for playing favorites.

So, on a final note:
YAY DUKE - CONGRATULATIONS ON WINNING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!