Wednesday, February 19, 2014

An old passion comes to life

I couldn’t sit still. I kept moving around in my chair. My legs were shaking. Every couple of minutes I got up and paced. My heart rate had gone up—I could tell.

What was I so nervous about? Was it a situation at work? Was I trying to stare down a compulsion? Was it a panic attack?
No. It was a basketball game.



I don’t think I’ve ever written on this blog about the obsession that I once had about basketball, specifically college basketball. It wasn’t an OCD obsession. It didn’t adversely affect my life. It was more of a passion. I haven’t indulged in it for a long time, but Tuesday night, I did.

I had a passion for college basketball, especially ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) games, especially University of Virginia games.
It started when I was in high school. I remember watching my first NCAA championship game in 1979: Indiana State versus Michigan State, Larry Bird versus Magic Johnson. I was pulling for Indiana State. Even though Michigan State prevailed, I was hooked.
I soon discovered UVA basketball, when Ralph Sampson joined the team during the 1979-1980 season. Sampson, Jeff Lamp, Jeff Jones, Ricky Stokes, Lee Raker—those were among the names I followed every Saturday afternoon, watching the games on TV.
I knew who most of the starting players were on all eight teams in the ACC. I knew who all the coaches were. I read the sports pages and even kept a scrapbook of clippings about Virginia basketball.
I loved the constant action of basketball, the finesse, the beauty of the basketball swooshing through the net, the skills required.
When I watched the games, I was totally immersed. I called out to the players, encouraging them. I cheered, I yelled, I pounded on the floor.
My family put up with me.

When I was a student at UVA from 1981-83, I attended a game at University Hall every chance I got.
During my first year, a guy I had met at a party called me up one late afternoon to see if I’d like to watch that night’s game on TV with him. I politely declined, telling him I had a ticket to the game and would be there in person.
My suitemates were astounded that I would turn down a “date” to go to a basketball game. I was astounded that they thought I would give up the chance to be there.
No worries. The guy called later and said he’d scored a ticket, so we attended the game together.

As I got older, I got busier with adult responsibilities and didn’t keep up with the game.
Right now, I can’t name five players on the UVA team. I can’t even name all the teams in the ACC anymore.
But Tuesday night, I watched the game between Virginia and one of its archrivals, Virginia Tech.
Virginia is having a very good year—the best since the early 1980s, when I was such a fan. I finished up at work earlier than usual for a Tuesday night, so I came home and turned on the game.
It was a nail biter. Virginia Tech made Virginia work for the win, but my team won: 57-53.
And I was almost as excited as I was when I was a teenager. Go, ‘Hoos!
I think more games are in my near future.

And on a side note, the win was particularly sweet because I live with a Virginia Hokie. Yes, Larry is a Hokie. But I claim victory tonight.


What passion from your past do you still hold on to?

10 comments:

  1. Oh Tina it is so exciting seeing your passion and obvious excitement for something other than your incredible writing. HUG B

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  2. i know a lot of folks who love each of those teams ... we see the flags flying all the time. cars all decked out in the teams stickers & all. i enjoy see it ... but i have never been in a similar boat. my Dad went to VA Tech. i live closer to UVA. to be honest i would have no clue how to pick which is better??! i will that to the fans. ( :

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  3. I've been a fan of the Nebraska Cornhusker football team since I was a kid -- and follow them every year. So I know what it's like to be passionate about your "home" team. :)

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  4. We need things that can take our mind off regular things for a while. It's a healthy situation.

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  5. that's neat - especially when your team won. :)

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  6. Glad you enjoyed the game and have such fond memories!

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  7. omgoodness, basketball, i would have never guessed!! i am a soccer girl, i love soccer but rarely watch any sport anymore!!

    so happy to read about another of your passions!!

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  8. My family are all Hokies - my brothers and sister in law and uncles and dad all went there. Me? I'm ambivalent - I went elsewhere, plus I don't really get into sports anyhow ;-) Glad you enjoyed the game!

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  9. Hmmm, one passion I still cling to from my past are model horses. Of course I don't play with them anymore, but I did go to great lengths to find a replacement set of The Black Stallion set of horses on eBay. They may just sit on a shelf, but looking at them brings back hours of memories of playtime.

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  10. i've never really been into basketball until my boys started playing. it really is an exciting game!

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