WAG - Making a left turn at Albuquerque
This is really going to be a short post, because I have to get back to editing my profile project, but I really have to make some noise about the Mizzou Women’s Basketball Team making it into the NCAA Tournament!
Note: I love the picture that came with the previously linked article.
I’m especially psyched since I was asked to be on the traveling team in case the team realized the “possibility” that it reached the tournament.
So, a clinched tournament birth + me being a dedicated 3-Point Play = a Southwestern retreat over Spring Break. Now that’s a math problem I can understand and appreciate.
I found out when I was visiting my sister at Truman in Kirksville. I’d gotten to meet several of her friends and watch them engage in various modes of wackiness from arguing a Shakespeare reference to playing with finger cymbals to hanging stereo speakers (unsuccessfully). Anyway, Hannah and I were just returning to her room when the brackets for the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Basketball Tournament were being announced. Seconds after walking in, Mizzou’s name popped up.
Even though I was in a strange, unknown dorm, I felt the urge to do a mini-victory lap. So, after excusing myself, I gave a loud whoop and sprinted halfway down the hall and back. Then, after reentering the room, I gave my sister (who was, unfortunately for her, the closest person) a big hug.
Next up, I was curious to see where we were playing. After all, venues ranged from Santa Barbra, California to Ames, Iowa.
Note: Ames is a nice place. I have great relatives who make a good living there. Of course, if one has a choice between an exotic locale and a familiar place… the answer is usually easy to make… especially when Ames is the other option.
That though quickly became moot when I saw that the team, the pep squads, AND THE BAND, were all headed to Tempe, Arizona.
Note: I just had to pause writing because a source for my profile called me back to say he’d finished putting together a file for me and I could pick it up sometime after 10:30 a.m. With the first draft being due at 9:00 a.m., I am ever tickled by the ironic timing I’ve had when trying to collect information for this story.
Anyway, it looks like I’m destined to have a warmer Spring Break than I originally expected. I don’t know any of the travel arrangements yet. The NCAA won’t release the timing of the game and their “television status” (station they will air on) until tomorrow.
All I know is that # 11 seed Mizzou is set to play our first round game on March 20 against #6 seed Stanford.
I guess I also know that if we win that round, we’ll play the second round on March 22 against the winner of the #3 Oklahoma and #14 Marist game.
Also, I guess I know that if we get past that, the Midwest regional finals, on March 28 and 30, are anybody’s guess.
I know that if I am hard pressed, I can recall that the last time the Women’s team made the NCAA tournament, in 2001, they went farther than the Men’s team did (a second round finish versus a first round defeat. I guess the women have already topped them in this category.
I’d care, but I’m going to Arizona.
Final Note: For those of you who did not get the title reference, Bugs Bunny is well known for often repeating the lament, “I knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque.”
At least that’s something I know I don’t need to worry about (since Tempe is about 300 miles to the left of the place where the towels are oh so fluffy: Albuquerque).
'Wacka_wacka_doo_doo_yeah'
