March Madness has officially hit, but I have to admit I'm not a sports fan - unless it's NASCAR, which some will debate whether it's a sport.
I have kids in the Monroe school district, and the past couple of years I've been hearing them talk about the "Cheese," and the way many of these youth athletes conduct themselves. Being the basketball powerhouse they are, I have started following the program a little closer. I also keep an eye on the Six Rivers Conference, as Black Hawk is my alma mater.
So, Friday, March 13, comes along, and as I got ready for work I found myself ditching my usual work attire and hunting through my closet for some red, and some black and the Monroe Cheesemakers shirt I bought a couple years ago. I figured I couldn't go wrong since red is the color of both teams, although red and black could be misconstrued for another tractor manufacturer. I didn't care. The Warriors and the Cheese were going to be playing in Madison and, by golly, I was going to support them both.
I listened to the games while I was on the road and at my desk. I had a hard time concentrating on work because the games were awesome. The commentators made a person feel like they were there, and there were numerous emotions to experience. But the greatest feeling was pride, mostly after the game was over.
How could you feel pride after your team lost? Well, it could be the pride of their accomplishment or how hard they tried. But the greatest pride came from the way our young athletes conducted themselves during interviews. Those girls are amazing - respectful, caring, encouraging, self-confident, humble, encouraging, graceful, well spoken, and just a downright class act. These girls need to talk to professional athletes and teach them some public-speaking skills. They used words like team, we, us and our. They described the other team with words like better, brought it, showed us, played together, great, sportsmanship and good luck.
I don't know whom to credit for teaching these class acts, but you did a great job. And to these class acts who represented our little piece of God's Country at the Alliant Energy Center, you have my deepest respect and admiration and I look forward to following you into the future. With all the negative press and vibes out there, you ladies give this reader hope that things in the future will be OK and that you will do your best to carry us into the future. These teams have nothing to be ashamed of. They came, they fought, they represented and they won. Maybe not on the scoreboard Friday, but they're definitely winners in our minds, communities and hearts.
I have kids in the Monroe school district, and the past couple of years I've been hearing them talk about the "Cheese," and the way many of these youth athletes conduct themselves. Being the basketball powerhouse they are, I have started following the program a little closer. I also keep an eye on the Six Rivers Conference, as Black Hawk is my alma mater.
So, Friday, March 13, comes along, and as I got ready for work I found myself ditching my usual work attire and hunting through my closet for some red, and some black and the Monroe Cheesemakers shirt I bought a couple years ago. I figured I couldn't go wrong since red is the color of both teams, although red and black could be misconstrued for another tractor manufacturer. I didn't care. The Warriors and the Cheese were going to be playing in Madison and, by golly, I was going to support them both.
I listened to the games while I was on the road and at my desk. I had a hard time concentrating on work because the games were awesome. The commentators made a person feel like they were there, and there were numerous emotions to experience. But the greatest feeling was pride, mostly after the game was over.
How could you feel pride after your team lost? Well, it could be the pride of their accomplishment or how hard they tried. But the greatest pride came from the way our young athletes conducted themselves during interviews. Those girls are amazing - respectful, caring, encouraging, self-confident, humble, encouraging, graceful, well spoken, and just a downright class act. These girls need to talk to professional athletes and teach them some public-speaking skills. They used words like team, we, us and our. They described the other team with words like better, brought it, showed us, played together, great, sportsmanship and good luck.
I don't know whom to credit for teaching these class acts, but you did a great job. And to these class acts who represented our little piece of God's Country at the Alliant Energy Center, you have my deepest respect and admiration and I look forward to following you into the future. With all the negative press and vibes out there, you ladies give this reader hope that things in the future will be OK and that you will do your best to carry us into the future. These teams have nothing to be ashamed of. They came, they fought, they represented and they won. Maybe not on the scoreboard Friday, but they're definitely winners in our minds, communities and hearts.
