Rock Chalk Champions; an ode to 2008.

{my nieces, the future jayhawks last spring.}

{The "Miracle" shot.}

{Mass street mayhew celebration.}

{repost from april 13, 2008}
rock chalk, jayhawk...
last monday, april 7, to be exact, KU won the NCAA 2008 Men's Basketball CHAMPIONSHIP.
the happiness which resulted after their 40 min duel against Memphis is not even possible to describe. you could feel it, along with hear it, through all the cheers laughter, running, and hugging. i don't know why, but tears began escaping, and sliding down my cheeks when the buzzer erupted after the final second on the clock disappeared. i had tears after the 2003 championship game, when we lost to syracuse. its easy to conclude the reason for those tears, but this time it was different. i know i didn't contribute anything to the game itself, but i saw something happen that i could have never imagined. we had won the NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP. along with the obvious emotions of jubilation, it dawned on me that our team was done. atleast 5 of our players won't be here anymore & most likely 2 will also depart. it was a great way to end, but it... ended.
i love the game. i only played for 4 years, & i was only 9-12, but i have experienced basketball for a greater part of my life. i don't remember a time in my life when i didn't know what basketball was,yet alone, who the ku jayhawks basketball team was. I remember watching SportsCenter every morning with Jon & Geoff before school, getting off the school bus and running to play 21 after school, & going to the Holiday Basketball Clinic, & multiple treks to LATE NIGHT. basketball has always been there. ... ku basketball is not just a tradition, its a family. and this being my first basketball season as a ku student, i was in some way, inducted. its about more than the game, its a way of life. i won't only remember the scores of the games from this season, i will remember the hours upon hours i spent camping out for seats, the quirky comments written in the free for all about darrell arthur's daily parking tickets, the 2 hours before gametime we would sit and watch the walk-ons warm up, how the band would start warming up exactly 47 minutes before the game started, tearing up newspaper for confetti, (sneaking in more than the "two sections" of the newspaper alloted,) but above all, i will remember the chills i got, everytime Allen fieldhouse exploded when the players were announced and the rock chalk chant echoed. the warmth i felt before the game, while i swayed back & forth singing the alma mater, can never be created anywhere else...the energy felt on Mass Street the night of the championship quickly reminded me of the present & my tears of happiness/sadness disappeared & the celebration proceeded. it was a night i will honestly never forget.--

i can't believe its been a year already.
so nostalgic.
xo-