....what could have been

We have had a busy month around here.  I have a lot of posting to catch up on and if I put it off much longer, the memories will vanish into thin air.  I figured that the best place to start was with that thing that pretty much dominates the mood of our household every year at this time.  March Madness (a.k.a. "How far the Jayhawks make it through the tournament")  I did not attend KU but I own more t-shirts and other paraphanelia for their school than I do for my own alma mater.  My son has worn a KU sweatshirt/t-shirt at least 3X a week for the entirety of his life.  And let's not even start on Travis' casual wardrobe.......he could outfit a small country with his collection of KU apparel.  When you have a husband/father who is such an avid fan, you just can't help being sucked into the vortex that dominates his world.  He eats, breathes, and sleeps KU basketball.  It is part of who he is and he wears it on both sleeves.  Trust me, I know.  I have been witness to his obsession for 12+ years, going back to the days when he had to check the paper for news or hit refresh 2,000 times to see what the score was, to now having it all at his fingertips.

I don't even go near the "man cave" while the games are going on but I probably know more about their team than most.  This year held a lot of promise and a month ago, Travis flew out to attend Senior night in Lawrence and was pretty much on top of the world, what with a #1 ranking and the tournament about to start.  He made his plans to be at as many games as he could and his company even provided tickets for the Final Four in Indy.  It was as if the stars had aligned in his world.

Then Northern Iowa happened in the second round.  

And just like that, a hot-handed Ali Farokhmanesh came out of nowhere, and the dream was crushed.  

(along with all our brackets!)

The thing I have learned about avid sports fans is that they don't take defeat well.  Especially when it comes unexpectedly.  They don't like getting hundreds of text messages or phone calls gloating about their teams' loss.  They just need a few days to get themselves together.  And even then, they keep a tight-knit circle of friends and family who are allowed to console them.  I am happy to say that the mourning period is over for now and he is looking ahead to brighter days.

We did take advantage of the Final Four festivities in Indianapolis over the weekend and attended a few practice sessions and hung out in Bracket Town (a huge festival-like set up with games, pep rallies, school band/cheerleader competitions, face painting, and much much more.....)  It was fun, although I  told Travis it would be a bit like me bringing the whole family along to a craft convention and asking him to wait in long lines for free fabric.  I like college basketball and all but I suppose the measure of my fan-dom ends at occasional glances at the TV when Sportscenter is on.  I am just not as jazzed about standing in line to win a basketball shaped drink holder or to catch a glimpse of Dick Vitale.  I do admit that it is cool to be in a place where thousands of people are gathered in support of their respective teams.  Everyone there was wearing their team colors........even the ones who didn't have teams there.  I think I saw just about every logo from most of the schools that had made it into the tournament.

So tonight is the Championship game and then it will be baseball, baseball, baseball, soccer, Em's basketball, and more baseball.   Although I said earlier that Travis doesn't like being teased about his team losing, there is one exception, his good friend J.D., from his college baseball playing days.  Their friendship is pretty much based on sports and talking trash about each others' teams.

They meet up several times a year to catch a game or two and have racked up quite the collection of shenanigans over the years.  J.D. and Travis are the best of friends but you wouldn't know that if you spent an hour listening in to one of their heated discussions.  They are absolutely merciless with one another in all subjects.  (I almost turned on the video-camera to capture last night's impromptu game of 3v3 in our backyard......it was stellar, and there was blood involved)  The point of my long-winded story is something that really made me laugh all weekend.  J.D. is here with his son Easton (who is carrying on the trash-talking tradition with Jordan), to attend the Final Four and the Reds' Opening Day game today.   Since the required mourning of KU's loss has ended, everything is fair game in their conversations.  J.D. and Easton came up with a plan, a plan to end every argument regarding the Jayhawks or college basketball in general.  Their plan was simple.  When needed, just say the name of the player who successfully ended KU's season this year:  "Ali Farokhmanesh".  I have heard his name many times this weekend.  It's funny.  And, it works.  I think I may have to use it in the future.  It will work for day-to-day arguments, right?  It has a nice ring to it.........Ali Farokhmanesh.  Go ahead, give it a try the next time Travis has one-upped you with his sports knowledge.  It will stop him in his tracks.