The Tarheels Loss to Georgetown Brings Back NCAA Memories
March 25, 2007 11:45 AM | 0 Comments
Last night, the University of North Carolina Tarheels lost in overtime to Georgetown. This reminded me of my halcyon days as a young Sports Widow and UNC Journalism student. It also revives a story about one of my greatest claims-to-fame in the realm of sports, my brush with greatness.
In 1982, the year I graduated from UNC, the Tarheels competed against Georgetown and won the Men's NCAA College Basketball tournament, which I witnessed from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. Actually, when the final shot was made, I believe my back was turned to the TV, as I was refilling my plastic beer cup at the Budweiser pony keg, but this is just a detail. (Hey, I grew up in Milwaukee, where hops are king.) What followed the deciding shot was a tremendous roar of fan appreciation and an all-night party. I recall viewing the enthusiastic crowd from a rooftop on the main drag, and the throng looked like amoebas.
A the time, I was taking a highly academic course known as Jazz Appreciation. Since one could take this as a S--L--I--D--E course (which you need to pronounce with a Carolina drawl that is slow as molasses in the wintertime), there were many other highly intelligent folks taking this as Pass/Fail, namely many of UNC's finest athletes. Among them were basketball greats: Michael Jordan, Sam Perkins and James Worthy. When they made cameo appearances to hear "Take the A Train" or "Boplicity," everyone else was in awe -- even then -- of their greatness.
Over the years during the NCAA Final Four Tournament, I like to tell this story to anyone who seems vaguely interested or is willing to listen, especially younger boys who are playing basketball. Inevitably, I get this immediate halo effect, and then they ask to play basketball with me, naively believing that perhaps some of Michael Jordan's craft has rubbed off on me. What they receive is a disappointing shock, because I can't even dribble the ball without looking down at it.
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