Checking off another milestone and watching sports

         I checked off another milestone in my journalistic career last week at the Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union State Basketball Tournament. I was there to cover the game between the Montezuma Bravettes and Algona Bishop-Garrigan Golden Bears.
      Even though the game didn’t turnout like I and all Montezuma fans wanted, being at state courtside is quite an honor.
        Only the top eight teams in each division from Class 1A – 5A advance to state.
        And for Montezuma, this was their sixth trip in the last eight years. I’ve covered five of the state games as the first one I was on hiatus from journalistic work.
     I covered the Montezuma boys at state in 2019, 2020 and 2021, when they won the Class 1A state basketball title.
       That was quite an experience watching that game unfold and witnessing the team, the fans and just being a part of that winning atmosphere.
       And I’ve covered the Grinnell girls’ basketball team in 2019 at state and the Grinnell boys’ basketball team for a three-year stretch at state in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
       And as often happens in Iowa during state tournaments, a round of ice, snow and cold hit the state.
      The weather in this state can turn on the bad switch on a moment’s notice. It can be 75 degrees one day and the next it will be 20 degrees or some other ridiculous ice cold temperature with a half foot of snow.
After hearing the initial weather reports from last week’s weather, at first, I was using the “wait and see” approach about attending the game on Wednesday, March 5.
       As the weather reports kept rolling in, Debbie and I decided it would be best if I booked a motel room and headed to Des Moines on Tuesday night.
        The state basketball tournament goes on, even in bad weather. 
       So, that is what I did. I was able to get a room less than a block from the Wells Fargo Arena, so walking there was no problem.
       It was great to be courtside at the tournament. It’s one of the many life opportunities that I have enjoyed since returning to college and earning my degree.
     But more importantly, it’s the players, their families, the kids, the coaches and the fans that make it special. And I get to be there and watch it all.
      Now that the tournaments are nearly finished (the boys wrap up on March 14), it’s time to think about spring sports.
        There’s track and field events coming and softball and baseball will get underway in late spring.
On the college level, the basketball conference tournaments get underway this week with the March Madness brackets being announced on Sunday, March 16.
         Then it will be three weeks of basketball games and more games to watch at the Parker house. 
         Then toss in college softball.
      Debbie and I are big fans of softball, especially the OU Sooners. We enjoy watching them play on television and have seen the Sooners live on several occasions at Iowa State University in recent years. We also traveled to the University of Kansas last March and watched two of the three game series.
         They are amazing, having won the national championship four years in a row. And they currently are the only D1 college softball program to be undefeated with a 22-0 record. That’s a great record for a team of freshman and transfers.
        Now that the Sooners have moved to the Southeast Conference, we had planned to attend the games at the University of Missouri-Columbia in a couple weeks.
       However, getting tickets is next to impossible. In fact, the games at MU are all sold out and we missed out.
       We talked about traveling to Fayetteville to watch the Sooners take on the Razorbacks, but those tickets sold out almost as quickly.
        Plans are underway for a  cousin reunion on my mom’s side later in the spring in Tulsa. We might have a chance to get tickets and watch the Sooners in Norman during that trip.
       Our dream is to someday attend the college world series in Oklahoma City and hopefully have the chance to see OU and many other nationally ranked teams.
        On a side note, now that I am 65 years of age, I can get a lifetime Iowa fishing license. That sounds like a good summer activity.
        Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.