Brain Chatter and Calm

There is no TV, no music, no extraneous noise in the house right now.  I can hear the whirr of the ceiling fan, and the windows are open, so an occasional street noise floats in.  Sometimes, the quiet is so blessed, so heaven sent. I was sitting outside, but it was cool, and I decided to move in.  It would be pleasant outside, if I had to be there. I am just a cold woosey.

I am grateful for so many things:  I have good family and friends. I have a job I enjoy. I have a house in which to live, and transportation. I can pick my food choices, for the most part, without worry. I can pay my taxes.

I have plenty of activities which I enjoy: knitting, reading, being involved in NASW http://www.naswtx.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=25, and being on the board of Catholic Family Service, Inc http://www.cfslubbock.org/ .  I am a dues paying member of the Heritage Fiber Guild http://www.heritagefiberguild.org/ and the Llano Estacado Audubon Society http://www.leas.bizland.com/, although my involvement in both are minimal.   I take classes through the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Texas Tech University http://www.depts.ttu.edu/outreach/   I try to attend the monthly meeting of the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2364?subtype=detailList&month=&day=ANY&sat=10.

I enjoy following the sporting events at Texas Tech University http://www.texastech.com/, specifically the Lady Raiders Basketball team, and I follow the football team. I had tried to follow softball, but that did not work for me.  Maybe, with the new coach, I should try again.

I am still and always will be a Red Sox fan http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos&tcid=mm_nyy_sitelist and a Yankee fan http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy&tcid=mm_mlb_sitelist.  I rarely watch the NBA games, simply because I am only a Celtics fan http://www.nba.com/celtics/ f and their games are rarely shown in this TV market. I have been a long time NASCAR fan http://www.nascar.com/.  This is an endearing and enduring gift from Lisenby, for which I am so thankful.

I am sure there is more that life could offer. Yet, I am so blessed with everything I have.  Thank you to my family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances for your contribution to my life.

The American Myth: Three Cheers for the Underdog

On March 29, 2011, I was watching NCAA Elite Eight woman's basketball games, and found myself cheering, in the final game of the round, for Texas A&M against Baylor.  Both teams are currently in the Big 12, and rivals of my "home team" Texas Tech. The season this year saw Texas Tech lose twice to Texas A&M and surprisingly, only once to Baylor. Texas Tech had an 11 point upset win over Baylor in Lubbock.

Well, there is something to be said for the American Myth about cheering for the underdog. And I tend to do that sometimes. Often.  In the USA, we love "the Cinderella Story."

But for me, there was more that went into cheering for A&M than cheering for the underdog.  Some of it had to do with the BAD HISTORY between Texas Tech and Baylor.  Specifically, and most recently, the events of the the Texas Tech vs. Baylor game in Lubbock on March 3, 2010. Baylor "superstar" Brittany Griner punched Texas Tech player Jordan Barncastle and broke her nose.  From the Texas Tech perspective, Ms. Griner was given a very mild punishment: she issued a written apology, but she also was given a 2 game suspension.  A mere slap on the wrist.

But, even before that, there was the Kim Mulkey presence.  Her style, her dress, her behavior.  Her style is rough. Her dress is flamboyant, advertising all she has to offer as a coach. Her behavior reflects her style and dress: angry, aggressive, adversarial to the MAX.

On the other hand, Gary Blair, coach of the A&M team has a more collegial, generous style. Less aggressive. More complimentary of the opposition. He even approached Tech player, Kierra Mallard, after one of the Tech vs. A&M games and encouraged her to step up to the leadership role she really should be demonstrating as a junior player. How much more generous and gracious as a coach can you get.

So, when I am deciding on a team to cheer for, there are factors other than being the underdog, that influence my decision.

Women's College Basketball

Last year, I was a women's college basketball fan.  I watched the games and the championship, not faithfully, but with good interest.  I watched games from other conferences, games from championships, and tournaments.

This year, I was a Lady Raider Basketball fan, and lost interest in the team as they faltered, and lost some games they should have won. True, they made it to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but even then, they did not reprensent themselves well. There were too many games in which the team did not play as a team, nor show heart and determination to win.  The NCAA tournament game was one such game.  They have not learned how to be a team.

I missed a lot of the NCAA tournament, but am watching the Elite Eight, and will watch the final four and the championship game.  There is a lot of reason to support women's college basketball.  First of all, it is a statement of gaining equality. Let's face it, men's sports still outshine the women in publicity, importance, and available resources, although things are supposed to be equal.

Second, it says something about women being team members. Young women are only now being more and more socialized as team players. So, promoting a team sport like basketball says something about building women's team skills.

Third, the women coaches are so collegial. They have such a sense of comraderie and supportiveness notwithstanding their rivalries.

Fouth, women support women. Most notably, women's basketball places a heavy emphasis on supporting women's breast health. During the basketball season, there are any number of promotional activities to raise funds to help support breast cancer awareness and research. How much more supportive can women be of women?

My Lucky Day

I went to a Lady Raider basketball game today; they played at home against Kansas State http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html.  They won, in double overtime, by two points. 

I usually sit in the general reserve open seating area, but this  year, the tickets have seating noted for other areas, and today, I decided to sit in the section, row, seat on my ticket.  It was on the other side of the court, and much lower than I am used to... I am still not sure I like being that close, but I think I do.

During the game, I was lucky to get two promotional T-shirts.  The first I caught purposefully.  It was smaller than I could fit, so I gave it to a young girl sitting near me. The second tumbled into my lap from the people in front of me. I was not even paying attention. I gave it to a little boy sitting behind me.

During the Chick-Fil-A http://chick-fil-a.com/#home promotion, small, stuffed cows are parachuted to the fans, with a coupon for a free sandwich...Today, I got a cow. I do not believe I have ever eaten at Chick-Fil-A, and if I did, it did not impress me. But I am very glad I have a cow.

Go Coach

Geno Auriemma is the coach of the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/w-baskbl/conn-w-baskbl-body.html, that, tonight, broke a UCLA men's basketball record by winning 89 games in a row.  At some time before the game, he gave an interview about that, and his comments reflected his obvious respect and belief in women.  He made comments to the effect that a certain amount of the media hype had to do with the fact that women were going to break a men's record.

Some time ago, I read a book, Brief Garland,  by Harold Keith http://www.oufoundation.org/sm/summer07/thams.asp?ID=249 about a man who was hired to coach boys basketball, but ended up coaching girls basketball, in a high school in Oklahoma. What he learned, among other things, was that coaching girls' sports had value, because the girls have value.

I think, from the comments I heard from Coach Auriemma, he believes the same thing.  Women are advancing in society to have more and more recognition in terms of capability and equality. 

But I live in a part of the world where women are still sometimes "the little women." There are even women in this part of the world (and maybe elsewhere)  who think we should be subservient to men, who like being tended to and kept by men, and are willing to subjugate themselves to men.  For what?  I guess maybe financial security, social standing, protection? I do not understand this, so I can not guess why women behave this way.

I am so grateful for people like Coach Auriemma or Jim Keith, the coach of the team in Brief Garland who understand that women are women and have intrinsic value as human beings, their gender notwithstanding.

Social Butterfly

I am not a social butterfly, but at this time of year, there seems to be a lot of activities occurring.  In addition to Lady Raider Basketball, I have been to two Christmas dinners for various groups, a photo show opening, a winter open house, and a Westwinds Brass Band Christmas concert in the past 6 days.  Actually, I think the spate of activity will quiet down now for a while.

Passion or Blasé

I have noticed that in the last several years, I do not have emotional passion for many things that I have had emotional passion  for in the past...  No passion for bird watching, (http://www.leas.bizland.com/no): no passion for NASCAR ( http://www.nascar.com/ ):, no passion for Lady Raider Basketball  (http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html.)

Dissecting this, am not sure about the birdwatching... I do know that some of the local birdwatching types have made me less interested in bird watching....

I absolutely know that I have a hole in my heart about NASCAR since Dale Earnhardt has died.. I try to be interested, but it is a struggle.  I want to be passionate about Dale Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Joey Lagono, but it is not the same.

The Texas Tech University Lady Raider basketball team has done so poorly, and performed not as a team for so long, that it is difficult to have passion for them.  I try to be, and want to be, a team player... I hope that happens...

I think it is hormonal.  I just do not have the emotional spikes I used to have.  Maybe, that is better than not.

Circle the Wagons

In 1993 Jimmy Valvano and ESPN founded the V Foundation for Cancer Research... Jimmy Valvano was the "legendary" North Carolina State basketball coach who was diagnosed with cancer....

Kay Yow was the North Carolina State women's basketball coach, and she succumbed to cancer in 2009.  She, too, was a legend...

In December 2007, the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund in partnership with The V Foundation was established as a charitable organization committed to finding an answer in the fight against women’s cancers.

Throughout the women's basketball season, mention is made of the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund but in February, things get ramped up... Teams wear pink, ask their fans to wear pink, collect donations, have fund raisers, all to collect money for cancer research...

Women do it better:  we network better, we support better, we help each other better. To me, it is awe-inspiring to see how we work together to help support cancer research...