Reluctant basketball fan turned rabid

I am not a sports fan. Anyone who knows me understands that I am not athletic - far from it. Aside from PE classes and an early attempt on my father's part to interest me in tennis, I have never played a sport.

Nor am I particularly interested in watching sports. I've tried, I really have. Baseball has far too little action; I lose sight of the ball in a football game and cringe at the myriad opportunities for injury. That applies to hockey, as well. I admire soccer players' fancy footwork, but it doesn't hold my attention. Golf is too slow, tennis is too sedate (and you can get whiplash just watching), and what the hell is lacrosse anyway?

That leaves basketball. If I just had to watch a sport, basketball would be it. It's fast-paced and high-scoring, I can follow the ball, the rules aren't hard to understand, and a 45-minute game leaves plenty of time in the day for other pursuits. 

Sarah attends a school with a winning basketball team. Before this year, I really didn't care about college basketball, and certainly didn't follow Syracuse University's success on the court. But being a parent of a college student brings out all sorts of team spirit on the part of a parent - even if the student doesn't have much, it seems.

So, reluctantly, and at Larry's urging, I began to follow the Orangemen as they progressed thought their season. They started strong, and my interest grew. Their ranking soared, they won a few more games, they lost some, their placement seesawed, and they finished the season with their heads held high. And I, the naive sports fan, thought that was it. 

Enter the NCAA tournament and its much-discussed brackets. Just what did that mean? More basketball, it seems. More Syracuse basketball. In fact, perhaps the best basketball Syracuse has played all season. Suddenly, they're in the Sweet Sixteen. I'm watching eagerly. Emily laughs at me as I plan my schedule around basketball and Syracuse advances to the Elite Eight. Larry yells at me because I didn't wake him up to watch a game with me, and they make it to the Final FOUR!!

I can't contain my excitement as I watch the clock for today's game. I even suggested to Larry that we go to a Sports Bar to for the ultimate viewing experience. He yawned... Where is his school spirit?!

So, I sit here with my calendar cleared, wearing my orange scarf, remote in my hand, and fingers crossed. Not only will I watch the Syracuse/Michigan game, but I'll also be watching the preceding Louisville/Wichita State game to see who will face off in the final game of the tournament. I will wake Larry up to watch Syracuse play today, but I'm betting he won't be wearing orange. Maybe I'll even make some buffalo wings and pop open a beer...

Go, 'Cuse!