I know March Madness refers to the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I admit, I myself am a little caught up in it this year. Our local boys, the Aztecs from San Diego State University, are making headlines as they won their first NCAA game last week, then their second game and are now, for the first time in school history, in the Sweet 16. Most of you know that I am not known as a basketball fan. Wrestling is where my heart is but I've watched SDSU's last two NCAA games, okay not the WHOLE game, but some of them and getting excited when they win reminds me of back home.
March in North Dakota is tourney time. Boys and girls basketball teams are in the heat of district and regional tournaments, playing their hearts out, hoping to make it the Big Dance, the state tournament. It is a big deal as only eight teams get the opportunity to showcase their talent on live TV, in front of sometimes thousands, yes thousands, of excited, rabid, crazy fans. There's nothing like a Class B State tournament. School calendars are built around the state tournament. Little towns across the state virtually shut down for three days, leaving a few people to mind the store, so to speak, while everyone else goes to the big city, Bismarck, Minot or Fargo, for three fun filled days of shopping, swimming in the hotel pool, junk food eating, and of course, basketball.
My first March spent in San Diego, the WC boy's BB team earned the right to play at state. I followed their trip through districts and regionals via phone calls, text messages and Facebook. I couldn't wait to be able to watch them, YES, watch them play their first game at state. Through the wonderful awesomeness that is the Internet, I was able to do just that.
Huddled in front of my laptop, snacks nearby, I wait, somewhat impatiently for the game to start. And soon, there it was, in all its glory. Okay, maybe not glory, because the screen shot was only about a 4" x 4" square and zooming it to full screen made it all grainy and blurry but I was glued to it anyway. I cheered as they scored, yelled at the refs along with everybody else and wished I was there in person, amongst all of the fans, losing my voice, waving my sign, and being proud to be from Watford City.
Honestly, I don't remember the outcome of the game or the tournament. I know we weren't crowned the champions that year. That honor went to another small town, one who probably had a big celebration that Sunday in their high school gym, complete with the pep band, speeches from the coaches and players and maybe even some good food afterwards.
This year, the WC girl's team got to make the trip to Bismarck. I printed the brackets early in the week, glad to find out that the game would be at 6:15 my time on Thursday so I could watch it at home, in my comfy clothes and if any yelling needed to be done, it could involve swearing and I wouldn't be risking my job. I fired up the laptop, cursed the 4x4 screen and watched, and cheered, and yelled and swore. I so wanted them to win, not only for them, but for me.
Watching hometown teams takes me back, back to the simpler days of high school, attending every game, not only because there was nothing else to do but because those players were your friends, your buddies and you cheered them on and supported them, no matter what. As an adult, living in WC, I still went to those games. Those players weren't my friends, but their parents were. Some of them were my students and I was there for them.
Out here, I don't know any students in high school. I don't read the local sports, although if I see an article about wrestling, that will get my attention. San Diego is full of the Chargers, Padres and for the past couple of weeks, the Aztecs. I miss the small town pride that comes with following your favorite sport, attending games and pep rallies, buying every new Wolves tshirt, readying your car for the out of town games.
I guess I'll have to be content with watching the Aztecs tomorrow at 4:15 via the Internet. Once home, changing into those comfy clothes and watching the remainder of the game on TV. And I'm pretty sure there will be swearing because the Aztecs play UConn. CeCe has been a fan of theirs for years. She's originally from Connecticut, so it's her right. I told her that whomever wins, she can be happy but I know better.
It could get ugly at our house tomorrow.
It could get ugly but it's all about the fun of it. The rivalry and the pride in knowing your home town team made it further than ever before. I am a San Diego Native and have never seen the hoopla for any of our pro teams unless they are in the playoffs. Most Southern Californian's are fair weather fans. I think that is because we are a military town with a diverse culture. However for those few weeks a year when whatever sport is happening at that time we jump on the bandwagon and sit glued to the TV hoping for a positive outcome for our hometown guys.
ReplyDelete"Little towns across the state virtually shut down for three days, leaving a few people to mind the store, so to speak, while everyone else goes to the big city, Bismarck, Minot or Fargo, for three fun filled days of shopping, swimming in the hotel pool, junk food eating, and of course, basketball." That quote is so absolutely frickin' true you could delete everything else and people would still understand. :D Love the blog, Flo.
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