Oh the madness...

Part of what I love about growing up in the Southeast is the legacy of basketball. Now, I did not grow up in a very "sportsy" household. We'd watch the Superbowl every year, but as a house full of women, we were a little more tied up with dance competitions and that sorta thing. But my love for basketball started when I was in high school, my sophomore year to be exact. I know most high schools really celebrate football and it's those big Friday night games that bring everyone together, but my high school didn't have a football team, so basketball was king.

Our crazy fans in high school were known originally as the "Ledford Loonies" (since we played games at the Ledford Center) and changed over to the "Castle Crazies" once we moved to our new facility my junior year. I was the only girl in the small group of us who were the really crazy ones who stood right at the corner of the court and screamed the ENTIRE game. I would very often not have a voice the next day. I also was voted "Most School Spirit" my senior year.

So I was very excited to attend a university with such a highly regarded basketball program as UNC. I was even more excited to experience an NCAA championship win my freshman year! (Although I will admittedly say that it sort of spoiled us for the rest of our college experience.) I can't tell you how great an experience it is to don my Carolina blue jersey and cheer on my boys at the Dean Dome and then run 2 miles up to Franklin Street after a big win and celebrate with bonfires and general revelry.

And I get pretty worked up during these games. I've been known to scream and stomp and jump up on my chair and one time, I even gave myself a massive nosebleed that wouldn't stop. Yah, it gets pretty intense.

So these past couple of weeks have been hell on my heart rate (and sanity). It seems that every single tournament game (ACC and NCAA) the Tarheels have taken part in this year have come down to the final seconds and a very last minute win. Not that I don't enjoy a close game that's played until the very last second, but really guys? EVERY game??

So I'm very excited about the games coming up this weekend. (I guess I'll have to convince the Florida folks of the importance of this game!) And I don't have any delusions of grandeur of us making all the way to the National Championship. I think we've got as good of a shot as anybody, but I don't think it's our year. I think nabbing a #2 seed and making it to the Sweet 16 is already the makings of a good season. But I'll still be there cheering them along until that clock winds down to 0.0. Let the MaDnEsS continue!

GO HEELS!