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02-19-2012, 09:49 PM
A Family Tradition...
I recently lost my dad and I have had a tough time reconciling my thoughts and feelings. I thought it might help to write a few things down and even share some them. This is my attempt at doing soâ¦
My dad and I have attended the Kentucky High School Boys Basketball State Tournament (aka The Sweet Sixteen â The Greatest Show in Hoops) together, since 1985. Please keep in mind that I am only 36 years old, so this has been a family tradition for us for 27 years. As a little boy I would only get to come up on Friday nights, but by the time I was in fourth or fifth grade I was allowed to miss Friday to come, and by the time I was in middle school I was playing hooky all three days to see the entire tournament.
As best I can tell, this tournament ranked about fourth on my dadâs list of life priorities. It fell behind his family,his religion, and fishing; so you can see how important this event was to him.
I can still remember a few details from the year Reggie Hanson carried Pulaski to the title in 1986. Dad and I were there to see Clay County win one for the âlittle guyâ in 1987. We also got to see Farmer drop 50-pts on future NBAâer Allan Houston. Even recently, Dad and I have discussed how good those back to back State Champ teams from Fairdale were. I can remember listening to my dad complain about two âprivateâ schools competing for the title in 92. We watched the legend of JR grow and saw him lead his mountain team to the top in 96. Dad and I were amazed by the ease and depth Rick Jones could fill it up from during the 1998 tourney. Seeing Lofton, then Miller lead Mason to two titles was special. Seeing an unknown Walt Allen takes an unknown South Laurel to the Championship in 2005, was a pleasant surprise for us. Watching the Holmes Bulldogs find a way to bring the big trophy home to the 9th region was one our most exciting tournaments together. Another good memory for my dad was seeing small school from Eastern Kentucky win it all 2010. These are just a tiny, speck of game time memories I have from 27 years. My dad has told me so many stories from times he had come before me. One my favorites is his detailed account of the âDumas shootâ from 1961. If you donât know about the âDumas shoot,â I encourage you all to look it up and read about it. It is just one of a million things that happen during the month March in state of Kentucky that makes basketball so special here.
All these great memories of the games are important, but not my reason for writing this. The real memories and the time spent with my dad is what I will never forget. Watching him sneak past security with a bottle water and an apple in his pocket. Hearing him tell stories about the old friends he would see while at the tournament. Listening to him make fun of complete strangers as he people watched during dead ball time outs. Thinking of all good food we shared at and away from the games. He loved to complain about officiating, especially the charge/block call. And his complaining always led to plenty of laughter as I would jokingly always take the other side of the call against him. This was a great time for a dad and son to be together. It often included my mom, who would shop while we watched the games. My dadâs brothers with my cousins were usually close by for the games too. Lastly, my brother is a big part of this event also. He has streak of attending Sweet Sixteen with us, for at least the last 20 years.
As I enter Rupp Arena for the 2012 Sweet Sixteen, it will be with a heavy heart. My thoughts will be of my dad and all the good times we had together attending this event. I miss him a great deal, more than I thought I could miss anyone. It will be hard, but my brother and I will continue the tradition. We will involve our kids as they grow older, so that this tradition will never die for our family.
I would encourage you all to enjoy the games this year and every year, but more importantly enjoy the friends and family you attend the event with. Hundreds, even thousands of you out there, have stories just like this one. I know I am no one special and no one wants to hear me preach, but take my wordâ¦cherish this event and those around you during it. If you are lucky, like I was, it will be some of the best memories of your life.
I recently lost my dad and I have had a tough time reconciling my thoughts and feelings. I thought it might help to write a few things down and even share some them. This is my attempt at doing soâ¦
My dad and I have attended the Kentucky High School Boys Basketball State Tournament (aka The Sweet Sixteen â The Greatest Show in Hoops) together, since 1985. Please keep in mind that I am only 36 years old, so this has been a family tradition for us for 27 years. As a little boy I would only get to come up on Friday nights, but by the time I was in fourth or fifth grade I was allowed to miss Friday to come, and by the time I was in middle school I was playing hooky all three days to see the entire tournament.
As best I can tell, this tournament ranked about fourth on my dadâs list of life priorities. It fell behind his family,his religion, and fishing; so you can see how important this event was to him.
I can still remember a few details from the year Reggie Hanson carried Pulaski to the title in 1986. Dad and I were there to see Clay County win one for the âlittle guyâ in 1987. We also got to see Farmer drop 50-pts on future NBAâer Allan Houston. Even recently, Dad and I have discussed how good those back to back State Champ teams from Fairdale were. I can remember listening to my dad complain about two âprivateâ schools competing for the title in 92. We watched the legend of JR grow and saw him lead his mountain team to the top in 96. Dad and I were amazed by the ease and depth Rick Jones could fill it up from during the 1998 tourney. Seeing Lofton, then Miller lead Mason to two titles was special. Seeing an unknown Walt Allen takes an unknown South Laurel to the Championship in 2005, was a pleasant surprise for us. Watching the Holmes Bulldogs find a way to bring the big trophy home to the 9th region was one our most exciting tournaments together. Another good memory for my dad was seeing small school from Eastern Kentucky win it all 2010. These are just a tiny, speck of game time memories I have from 27 years. My dad has told me so many stories from times he had come before me. One my favorites is his detailed account of the âDumas shootâ from 1961. If you donât know about the âDumas shoot,â I encourage you all to look it up and read about it. It is just one of a million things that happen during the month March in state of Kentucky that makes basketball so special here.
All these great memories of the games are important, but not my reason for writing this. The real memories and the time spent with my dad is what I will never forget. Watching him sneak past security with a bottle water and an apple in his pocket. Hearing him tell stories about the old friends he would see while at the tournament. Listening to him make fun of complete strangers as he people watched during dead ball time outs. Thinking of all good food we shared at and away from the games. He loved to complain about officiating, especially the charge/block call. And his complaining always led to plenty of laughter as I would jokingly always take the other side of the call against him. This was a great time for a dad and son to be together. It often included my mom, who would shop while we watched the games. My dadâs brothers with my cousins were usually close by for the games too. Lastly, my brother is a big part of this event also. He has streak of attending Sweet Sixteen with us, for at least the last 20 years.
As I enter Rupp Arena for the 2012 Sweet Sixteen, it will be with a heavy heart. My thoughts will be of my dad and all the good times we had together attending this event. I miss him a great deal, more than I thought I could miss anyone. It will be hard, but my brother and I will continue the tradition. We will involve our kids as they grow older, so that this tradition will never die for our family.
I would encourage you all to enjoy the games this year and every year, but more importantly enjoy the friends and family you attend the event with. Hundreds, even thousands of you out there, have stories just like this one. I know I am no one special and no one wants to hear me preach, but take my wordâ¦cherish this event and those around you during it. If you are lucky, like I was, it will be some of the best memories of your life.
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02-19-2012, 10:52 PM
Great post. My heart goes out to you
02-19-2012, 11:44 PM
Great Post. I wish you the very best. It's tough to lose someone close
02-20-2012, 12:16 AM
Great Post and welcome to BGR!
02-20-2012, 12:18 AM
Sounds like your dad gave you the greatest gift he could...a lot of wonderful memories. That's the best gift of all and one that will stay with you forever and will get you through a lot of tough times. Cherish those memories, think of them fondly and smile whenever you do. Your dad will still be with you, for all the things you liked to do together, he'll just be in your heart instead of the seat beside you. Blessings....
02-20-2012, 12:53 PM
Great post. Hope you & your family have a great time at the tournament this year. I'm sure you will have several laughs as you recall memories with your dad. Stories like this are priceless. Thanks for sharing.
02-20-2012, 01:36 PM
AWESOME!!
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading your post; thank you so much for sharing!!
You are so lucky to realize the value of family and making memories with family at such an early age!!
I'm sure that you will be as misty eyed going into Rupp as I am right now. But, you can be thankful that you had a dad that cared enough to give you these wonderful times that turned into wonderful memories.
FishOn!!
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading your post; thank you so much for sharing!!
You are so lucky to realize the value of family and making memories with family at such an early age!!
I'm sure that you will be as misty eyed going into Rupp as I am right now. But, you can be thankful that you had a dad that cared enough to give you these wonderful times that turned into wonderful memories.
FishOn!!
02-20-2012, 03:17 PM
awesome post buddy. welcome to bgr
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