Thursday, April 03, 2008

Spring Breakin' out...

I've never had the fortune of going on what you'd consider a "true spring break" in the wild and crazy sense. Definitely not in the Girls Gone Wild sense, that's for sure. (But that's a good thing.)

I don't think I'd really want to, either. Not my style. I may be liberal politically, but my everyday sense is actually quite conservative and reserved. (Those stories you've heard are all lies, I tell you! Lies!)

Sure, I used to enjoy Myrtle Week in college (the week after exams, where everyone at my school would drive down to Myrtle Beach for some fun in the sun), but in a much quieter way than most of my sorority sisters. We'd party on my b-day (Cinco de Mayo), but then I'd spend the rest of the trip just laying out and relaxing instead of hitting on random guys.

In college, I generally went back to NJ to visit my parents over Spring Break. Once I went to some first-round NCAA games, however.

That's what Spring Break always meant for me in college. One thing, and one thing only...basketball.

If you've read my previous post, then you probably think I'm a prissy little girly girl. And in many ways, I kinda am. And I totally don't think my college hoops obsession makes me any less girly. I just think it's normal.

See, my parents met on the steps of the graduate student dorm at Duke. My dad went there for undergrad, too, as did his dad before him. So I was reared on a steady diet of Duke basketball from about the time I could string together the sentence "Go Devils!"

There was no question where I wanted to go for college, especially with the fabulous back-to-back National Championships that occured when I was in junior high and high school.

So it was normal for me to spend Spring Break following the team, either on TV or in person.

On Saturday night we'll have the first ever Final Four with all #1 seeds, as UCLA and Memphis meet at 6 pm EST and Kansas and UNC afterwards. As cool as it is to see this historic meeting, I'm feeling rather bittersweet that Duke isn't among them.

Clearly I have to root for Memphis to beat UCLA. Why? Well, UCLA leads the nation in number of NCAA Tourney wins, and I want them to slow down so Coach K may eventually get a chance to catch up. And clearly I have to root for Kansas over UNC, because as a Duke grad, it's my solemn duty. I'm sworn to cheer against our bitter rivals to the end.

Unless Duke had made it to the Final Four this year, in which case I would root for UNC over Kansas, because I'd love for Duke and UNC to face off in the finals. Coolest. Game. Ever.

Speaking of UNC, I got married on the same night as the Duke-UNC game a few years back. I know, I know. Not too smart of me, and I always swore I'd never schedule a wedding in between November and April. But in my defense, the Duke-UNC game never used to be on a Saturday night...it was always Sunday afternoon! But ESPN decided Sat nite would be a better TV draw, so I had a bunch of pissed off wedding guests. LOL!

There's a fun pic of me and my maid of honor watching the game in the hotel bar. Needless to say, Mr. Brice was not amused...

So what about you? What did you do for Spring Break? Was basketball ever part of the agenda? Do you even care about the NCAA Tourney? LOL!

14 comments:

  1. I know we share a brain, but I think you got the sports side of it, because I don't know anything about sports. LOLOL

    So, to answer your question, nah, sports never factored into things I've done...

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  2. Anonymous11:00 AM

    Yeah, I think I'm rooting for Memphis overall, too, although I wouldn't have a problem with Kansas winning since Bill Self is a good guy and it's always fun to see Roy Williams (UNC coach) get beaten by his former team.

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  3. I like watching live games...but can't watch basketball on TV.

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  4. Anonymous11:39 AM

    Gwen, that's how I am with baseball. Can't stand watching it on TV, but basketball is a whole different story. It's great on TV! Not as good as live, of course, but sometimes it can be better because you can watch multiple games at once with the picture-in-screen feature or if you're at a sports bar.

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  5. We are not going to say anything negative about baseball.

    But I get the being a sports wench thing. Last month a woman I do business with said she would be in town the second week of April. She wanted to get together. First date she threw out was April 8th and I said "NOPE" without looking at my calendar or hesitating at all. She kind of pressed it, since it was the best day for her.

    April 8th. Erm. No.

    Then one of my doctors wanted to schedule a procudure for that day. Umm. No.

    I. DO. NOT. HAVE. OPENINGS. ON. OPENING. DAY. AT. FENWAY.

    Put it on a sticky and slap it on your forhead, people. This isn't something trivial like my career or cancer. IT'S OPENING DAY AT FENWAY.

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  6. Anonymous12:57 PM

    I'm not knocking baseball, Chrissy. In person, it's a great time! I just can't watch it on TV because it bores me to tears unless I'm there in person. :)

    Mr. Brice is a Red Sox fan, so I'm sure he's jealous of you.

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  7. I'll knock baseball. Sorry babe. Not. For. Me.

    I played softball for uber years. Was a very, very good player. Loved the game. But baseball? I'd rather stick a fork in my eye. I like looking at the boys in the uniforms, but that's about it. LOL

    I'm a basketball and soccer girl. And rugby. That's a fun mess to watch. LOL

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  8. I'm not much of a big b-ball fan, sadly. I enjoyed it when I was in high school and college, but that's different because you're right there in the thick of it. LOVE football and Nascar though.

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  9. Hi Amanda! I got interested, to put it mildly, in b-ball when my now college freshman daughter zealously took up playing all the way through her senior year. We watched March Madness together and the final four. But I'm lax this year without her here. She's managing her college girl's team as she didn't make the cut. Grrrr.
    But she's far more gracious than her Mom. :)
    But, she doesn't like Duke. She's a Maryland fan.

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  10. I'm a big basketball fan but NBA more than college.

    But basketball has never been a major factor as long as I can tape/tivo/dvr or otherwise record the game. Back in the day, there were some family dinners and parties missed cause of the game.

    Watching it live is heaven for me but I'll sit in front of the TV and watch too. Live I get to bring my pics and get some great action shots.

    The problem now is the day job and working 2nd shift, basketball is pretty much caught in snippets here or there or following the play by play online.

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  11. I never cared for college hoops until I married my hubby. Now, I'm aware of the NCAA tourney...almost painfully aware. The tourney takes over my weekends, becomes the reason why the grass remains unmowed and the garage remains uncleaned, and when my kids were little, disappointing results that skewed my hubby's bracket caused enough noise from him to wake the babies. ;)

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  12. Anonymous11:14 PM

    Though I have kept up with it in the past, I am not intently watching this year's NCAA's. However, as a number of my family members either attended or graduated from Memphis, it would be fun to see them win!

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  13. I'm chiming in days late here, but being the sports fanatic that I am, I couldn't pass up a sports question.

    I'm a HUGE baseball fan: Go Cubs!!! Since as far back as I can remember, my grandmother and I would either watch Cubs games together on WGN, or call each other to talk about the game (we lived in Florida, she lived in Puerto Rico. One of my fondest memories involves my grandmother and my first trip to Wrigley Field. Even though she was 70+, she giggled like a teenager as we sat in the stands. It's something I will never forget!!

    I also love football, college and pro. Although, I try like hell not to plan anything on a Saturday in the fall-- Go Gators!!!--, while Sundays I'm hit or miss. Thank God for tivo, ESPN and text messages (to keep up with the score via family members watching at home)!!! Saturdays I wear orange and blue, no matter where I'm going. :-)

    And, being a University of Florida alumni, I've become an avid college basketball fan in recent years. Thanks to Billy Donovan and a special group of guys who brought home 2 championships in a row!!!! We were a little rough this year, but with mostly freshmen starting, they needed time to mature and grow. Look out next year!! :-)

    Hey Chrissy, my neighbor is a HUGE Red Sox fan, married to a Yankee fan. Not sure how they survive.:-)
    I've never been to Opening Day at Wrigley Field, but I'm watching at home, or keeping track of the game on my computer at work, or this year, we went to the game at Busch Stadium in St Louis (we live nearby) and proudly wore our Cubs gear. I just wanted to be in a ballpark, and if it couldn't be Wrigley, well, I could go and keep track of the Cubs score via the jumbo screen at Busch. :-)

    And, I'm headed to Wrigley on the 18th for Derek Lee bobblehead doll day!!

    So, to answer your sports fan question, Amanda. Yes, I LOOOOOVE sports. Bummed out that the Gators aren't in the NCAA final again this year, so, I'm rooting for Memphis.

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