Couldn't Lose Last Night: #Cuse #Cards #Birfday #Ubuntu #Boys

My 45th birthday present to myself was to get tickets for Abu, Lossine, and Chitunga to see my two alma maters play at the Carrier Dome: Syracuse and Louisville. I knew I couldn't lose (even if I'm always for the underdog) and was simply thrilled to know that the three were able to brave the weather/blizzard/snow with 20,000 other fans and take a Monday night away from the grind.

There is much history here. I never went to the Dome as a high school student (except for band competitions with Cynde), but I did make it to Louisville games as a kid (with Peter Boy) in Kentucky. As I got older, attending games became more and more exciting, and now the Louisville/Syracuse match is simply a ritual - something I look forward to every year. I was excited when both teams moved to the Big East, and then, although I was reluctant to accept, I've enjoyed the shift to the ACC. It's great to see strong teams meeting one another in the regular season.

I should have predicted overtime, however, last night. Actually, I thought it was going to be a blow out, but I'm glad the game offered more play for the buck (It's $$$ for three tickets).

I wanted Chitunga to go to University Louisville, but he chose LeMoyne in Syracuse, and I get it --- although it's family in the Bluegrass State, CNY has more family.

I have to say, though, University athletics aren't as friendly as they used to be. When I was in Louisville, I used to write Boeheim's people to get set up with tickets. While at Syracuse, I did the reverse with Zurich and others in Kentucky. This showing, though, I couldn't get any team to budge and release "reserved" tickets for diehard fans. I had to go online (and gamble with the results)

I do know, though, that it makes me happy that a basketball tradition is passed on to the three musketeers (clowns, fools) residing in Syracuse now, although I know the sport kills Chitunga - he's football all the way. Even so, they were there.

So many games. So many years. So much family history (ha, how many hotdogs and sodas did we serve, Cynde, to support Nikki?). It feels good to know that Lossine, Abu and Chitunga got to enjoy the game as spectators, however.

Happy Birthday to me. Thumbs up all the way.