Hoop Heaven

By Chris

Had to add to Teresa's basketball post. We did, indeed, go to a college basketball game last night that kept us out until well past 11 p.m. And, it was worth it. Something happens to my boys at a basketball game that doesn't happen anywhere else. They fight and bicker pretty steady anywhere else. But, not at the Ted (the affectionate name for our team's homecourt) during a game. They are totally into the game and experience. They know every players' names and strengths. They cheer together, talk about the players together, and dance and act crazy to try to get the jumbo-tron cameras to focus on them. Last night, they left me for the entire second half to sit in some open seats by the court together. Side-by-side. Smiling and giggling for a good hour. They scored two cameos on the jumbo-tron screens. It is an entirely masculine, manly man experience (we go with my former college roommates to every game), and they dig that we used to be just like the crazy students in the student section. Of course, we tell them we were even crazier . . . that those dudes have nothing on the people from our day. On the way home, they both promised me that when I get old, they'll come get me with their sons to go to games. No matter what! When we got home, I tucked them in. They were chatting in the dark about how one of their favorite new guys on the team scored 11 points as they drifted off to dreamland. And, that's at least as important as a good night's rest on a school night, right?