Happy Little Trees

Who would have ever imagined that the stars would align and the year that UK went to the Final Four tournament, it would be in Houston, and I would get to go?!

I was very nervous on Friday debating if I should/should not go to the tournament. Friday night, I navigated my way through what I hoped was a reputable website, and I got some nosebleed tickets. It was hard finding a Texas friend that would tag along with me, but my sweet friend, Wendy, was up for the adventure.

Saturday felt like it was going to be prom night or something. Wendy and I went to a sports store to buy binoculars and blue shirts. She kept showing me blue shirts to which I would reply, "No, not the right color. It's not Kentucky blue."

I found that finding Kentucky blue in Texas is a difficult task.

One of the coolest things was getting to sit with my old high school classmate, Paul, at the game. He and his cousin had driven all night from Kentucky to see the game. Through the wonders of text messaging from my brother in Kentucky to Paul (who attends my brother's church), we found each other in the sea of 75,000 and were able to join our parties. Their seats had a much better view of the court than the ones Wendy and I had.

It was good to have Paul's commentary for the game, which I highly respect since he was the high school star for us back in the day and currently serves as our alma mater's head coach. He was busy text messaging his family, his team from home, and teachers, whom I'm sure also wanted his commentary. I bet he felt like an ambassador from our home county for the game. I kind of felt like that, too, for my family. It was an honor.

All in all, the Cats played hard, but shot too many bricks in the beginning. It reminded me when I would play games of Horse with my cousins, and be stuck on the "H" for what seemed like eternity. I thought that the refs made some not so great calls, but that's basketball.

I directed Wendy's attention to the UK cheerleaders. They are, and will always be, awesome. They are classic, and perform to perfection--syncronized backflips, a rotating pyramid, flawless handstands--they are the untouchables of the cheerleading world.

I'm sad to say that next year, the Final Four will be in New Orleans. It was so great having my home state and my new home state meet together. Good times. Good times.