During this time of year I eat, sleep, and breathe
basketball. My days revolve around which ACC teams are playing each other and
the time of the games. This only gets worse when March Madness arrives after Selection
Sunday.
I didn’t grow up playing basketball; in fact my love for
basketball didn’t really start until the 8th grade. My mom grew up
watching sports and passed her love of sports to me. My grandparents would
allow my mom and her siblings to get out of school early during the ACC
tournament. They would even have multiple TVs playing to show different games.
This tradition was passed down to me when I was in high school, although I
didn’t have multiple TVs on at the same time.
My mom is from North Carolina and attended East Carolina
University. One of her brothers and her sister attended The University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill and her other brother attended North Carolina State
University. This influenced the majority of the teams I pulled for growing up.
I hated Duke with a passion (still do today) and would always pull for UNC and
N.C. State.
The first basketball game I remember really watching and
getting into was the Duke vs. UNC game in 2007. Tyler Hansbrough (one of my
favorite players) received a broken nose from Gerald Henderson. Hansbrough’s
face is forever etched in my mind with the pain-stricken expression and blood
running down his face. UNC beat Duke 86 – 72 and Hansbrough was the leading
scorer with 26 points. Since that game I have always enjoyed watching the Tar
Heels and pulling for them season after season. Basketball is my favorite sport
and I continue to look forward to each new season after the last piece of
confetti is cleared from the national championship court.
Watching March Madness when I was younger is another reason I am a basketball fan today. I remember staying up way later than I should have and watching two teams I had never heard of before playing for that last second shot to advance to the next round. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI get more excited for March Madness than I do for Christmas!! Just like you, I saw that game, I was in love with Tyler Hansborough and I will never forget the image of his bloody face and the hate he received from the Duke fans. I remember he didn't let the bloody nose or the Duke fans fluster him but kept on playing his heart out. I miss when UNC was a top contender -- hopefully Roy Williams can get a team just like the 2007 team together soon.
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