MARCH MADNESS

Oh how we love March Madness at our house! To fully appreciate my love of March Madness, you have to first understand a few things.

1--My family didn't really watch basketball when I was growing up. My dad was more of a football and golf guy--which was fine.

2--I moved to Kansas City in the fall of 1987--my first memory of college basketball EVER (I was 14, sad I know) was the 1988 March Madness season. Who won?--silly question! Danny Manning's 9th (opps, Reed corrected me, it was 6th) seeded Kansas Jayhawks--my dad's office building rigged the lights so at night they had a big KU in the window. I remember staying up to watch the game and loved it.

3--Then I met Reed--who loves basketball and really LOVES the Jayhawks. Reed's dad is a professor at KU and they have season tickets. I don't remember how long Reed and I had been dating before he took me to a game (which sure must have been a sign of true love to let me use one of the coveted tickets :) ) So--the first college basketball game I ever saw in person was in the famous Allen Fieldhouse--named after Phog Allen. I really didn't appreciate how cool the fieldhouse was until years later when we went to some other basketball venues. This past spring, USA today did an article on the top 10 place to see a college BB game--and Allen Fieldhouse was first. There is truly nothing like the fieldhouse anyway--but then the chant--ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK--KU! So cool. I will admit, I didn't love it like I do now at first, but I'm totally converted! Today when they started to chant at the end of the Big 12 championship game, I got goosebumps! As a side note--when we went to BYU, I was so excited for college sports. We got season football tickets, first, it was a horrible season, second I was horrified at the "popcorn popping" singing--esp. on ESPN night. We went to one BYU basketball game at the Marriott center--I was appauled that people watched basketball sitting down in their seats. I will cheer for BYU out of loyalty--but it's just not the same. Our brother in law can not understand how we are all Jayhawk fans, and we didn't even go there--but it is just unlike anything else and it is where I learned to love college basketball. (He of course is a Kansas Wildcat fan--enough said!)

Christmas 2006 in the new Jayhawk gear from Grandma & Grandpa Deshler!

4--Every year since we have been married we have a bracket challenge--I usually lose, but I do know more than you would think about college BB--and I've sure learned a lot over the years. The kids have always played along--as soon as they could talk, we would tell them the teams and let them pick. But we have moved into a whole new era now. It really ramped up last year. The boys are totally into it--but Collin is insane. I don't know if it is his love of number that attracted him (he love the scores, the seeding, the records etc) but he is totally into it. To top it off--he's very good. I can't remember for sure--but I think he won last year. And they are all Jayhawk fans. Zoe even has a little cheerleader outfit!

5--We moved to Louisville the year that Kentucky beat KU in the sweet sixteen (1998) and I vowed to NEVER soften towards the wildcats. I've moved around enough to know, that eventually you start to have a local favorite sports team and I was just certain that it would never be UK. With my kids all growing up here and being surrounded by KY and UofL fans, they have eventually started to lean towards one or the other--and I don't punish them for that. But we sure make sure that the home favorite is KU. And during March, I wear my Jayhawk gear everytime it is clean--this year I have new additions of car decals for the van. I love KY and it feels like my home now, but I feel a moral obligation to be a loud and proud Jayhawk fan for March Madness! And for the record--although I will never be a UK fan, I would cheer for them over most other teams (although last year was a sweet win) but I will NEVER become a card fan. I didn't have a feeling about Uof L one way or the other when we came here, but I hate the cards now! (sorry to all of my Louisville friends ) Mostly I hate Rick Pitino. I also dispise: Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, and most of all Syracuse! (all KU history related)

Avery, Collin and Reed at a KU game in December. It was their first live KU game and they LOVED it. Grandpa Deshler went too--we could only get 2 extra tickets--and they were not even in conference play yet.

GO JAYHAWKS!

Our FHE activity for tomorrow night will be to fill out our brackets! Then we have fun highlighting and marking the winners. Collin will probably end up in charge of the master sheet this year!