April 10, 2008
Where have I been? Embroiled in March Madness and finally home after KU has won the National Championship. I have two suitcases to unpack. One is full of winter clothes and boots from the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 in Detroit. The other has summer t-shirts and sandals from San Antonio. What a wonderful March and early April.
As I was driving back from San Antonio I thought about the last four weeks, starting with the Big 12 tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The championship game with Texas seemed the epitome of basketball, Texas and Kansas matching each other shot for shot. Mario Chalmers had eight 3 point shots. I did not get the opportunity to go to Omaha, but sat at home watching every minute that the TV gave us.
Then we were off to Detroit for the Sweet 16. Fortunately the KU women’s basketball team was playing in the NIT in nearby Lansing. We went to see the women play Michigan State. They almost pulled it off. MSU had a player who was 6’9” and unfortunately at the end she really poured it on. Then we got back in the bus and it took 2 ½ hours to make the 80 mile trip back to Dearborn because it snowed every minute. Villanova was the next night. What a game! Then the long wait for the Davidson game. What a scary game! As you know the last minute shot didn’t work and we were off to the Final Four, beating Davidson 59—57, with phenomenal defense under our belt.
When we came home that night (about 2:00 a.m.), there were twenty student dancing around on our front lawn, the Chancellor’s House at the University of Kansas. We were off to the Final Four three days later.
I got in the car on Thursday morning. I was on automatic pilot, actually GPS pilot. She’d tell me to turn and I would. I watched the road and listened to mysteries. I don’t remember too much about that trip except being excited to get to San Antonio after almost twelve hours of driving..
San Antonio was fantastic. Jayhawks invaded everywhere. It would take one hour to walk a block, and that wasn’t even on the River Walk. Strangers would come up to my husband and want to get their picture taken with him.
“I graduated from KU ten years ago. Do you mind if we take a picture?”
“This is my daughter. She’s four months old. Could you hold her in a picture?”
We spent many hours in the hotel lobby, the streets, and the River Walk. We talked to people, listening to their stories about their successes after college. They would tell us about their businesses, their practices, their teaching, and their families :so many stories from all over the United States. They still loved and appreciated their school. They would talk about football and basketball and then ask about certain professors or buildings.
People kept telling us that they saw old roommates, neighbors, and friends from the past. Larry Brown seemed to be everywhere. Governor Kathleen Sebelius walked with her son John and her friends, frequently stopping for pictures, cheers, and handshakes.
Finally the hours passed until the semi-final game. The KU—North Carolina game was amazing. How satisfying to see our team perform so well, especially in the first half. Then we had even more jubilant Jayhawks everywhere! We made it to the championship game. I kept pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming..
Everyone kept saying, “Even if we don’t win the final…” except they were lying. Winning the semi-final just makes you greedy to win it all, gosh darn it. So we passed more time, hanging around, waiting, waiting. Eating and talking.
The great thing about being in San Antonio like this was that barriers break down. Fans even from other universities sit near each other, stand in lines for seating, and wait for elevators together. They end up talking to each other. They compare trips down to San Antonio. They compare lives, universities, families. They just talk to one another about sports, restaurants, cheap places to get t-shirts, and interstates. Retired couples talk to college students, businessmen talk to band members, and all they originally had in common was coming down to San Antonio for the Final Four. Time passes and people talk, maybe because there’s nothing else to do when you’re waiting.
We finally walked over to the championship game. This was it. The row behind had been unhappy Saturday night.They were for UCLA and then for North Carolina. They whined and griped during the first two games. We figured that they would be too upset to be here.
To my surprise, they showed up to the Kansas-Memphis championship game.
“Hey guys," a lady leaned over to say, “We’re for Kansas, for you tonight.”
“Great!”
The final game began. Like everybody else I sweat; I cheered; and I froze. I agonized along with the other Kansas fans. I panicked and my heart sunk. Then Mario Chalmers hit that historic 3 and everybody was screaming and yelling.
“We have a chance…we’re gonna win!”
We WON! Chaos followed with everybody hugging… You probably know all the rest.
I slept from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. I was heading back to Lawrence at 5am on Tuesday This time I had to concentrate on staying awake. Those little bottles that say “5 hours of Energy” actually work, plus a lot of Diet Coke. It wasn’t that hard. I thought about the whole weekend. I forgot to mention I did get to see a guy fall in the canal on the River Walk. His friend jumped in to help him out. It was only about 4 feet of water where they were. The guides said some parts of the canal were 12 feet so I guess they were lucky. Lucky, that’s how I felt about the Final Four, the whole experience.
Our team and our main subs, Chalmers, Russell, Rush, Jackson, Arthur, Kaun, Collins, Stewart, Aldrich and Case are actually a TEAM. They are all stars, depending on the night. And that’s the way the whole season has been. An actual TEAM, no one star that ESPN can go crazy over for the entire game and even the entire season. All stars in their own rights. Mario Chalmers had his historic moment that we will see over and over again. But Mario and all of the guys know that they could not have made it to the Final Four without each other: each member of the team was invaluable in one game or another. Bill Self and his assistants Townsend, Dooley, Manning, and Chalmers have taught us a lesson. A team competes. The Jayhawks were competitive: they wanted to win games, with or without stars. And Bill Self and his staff wanted wins, not ESPN stories.
The team’s real gift to all Jayhawks is Hope. If we work hard together, in whatever team we’re on, we can win, whatever adversity we face. And each one of us may have his night, his game, and maybe even his shot at history. To Bill Self, his assistants, and this team: you inspire us… yes, you inspire us. That’s what we’re all talking about now. Thanks.
Comments
Esmarelda (anonymous) says...
Impossible! You made basketball seem exciting, friendly, fun, heart-warming. and inspiring - to a definitely-not-a-fan.
April 12, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
alieberman (Alice Lieberman) says...
Well, I AM a fan, and I loved reliving those "shining moments." Whenever I'm bored or bummed out, I watch that 3-pointer on YouTube, shot in Allen Fieldhouse. To watch those kids jumping up and down is fabulous!
April 20, 2008 at 9:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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