Conquering Vertigo

En Cee Double El

As Duke University's men's basketball team takes to the floor for this year's NCAA "March Madness" tournament, they're missing one of their most faithful, fervent fans: my grandmother Lois. Ever since the 1960s, when my uncle played saxophone in the Blue Devils' marching band, Lois has attended, watched, cheered, exhorted, couch-coached and grieved for the team.

In later years, Lois became so anxious and disgusted over close games that she would stop watching rather than risk seeing them lose. In her estimation, when the ball left a Duke player's hands, the only logical conclusion was the interior of the basket. And anything less than a ten-point lead was unacceptable.

I inherited this loyalty, and this year I'm celebrating my own NCLL tournament (the Ls in honor of Lois), complete with Coca-Cola, the official beverage of Lois' life, and her constant support during the games.

Living in California, it's difficult to catch all the Duke tournament games, since regional teams often get preference in the broadcast schedule. But Thursday I was lucky to see the end of the Duke v. Belmont game, a nail-biter which Duke won by one point. And today I get to see the whole of Duke v. W. Virginia.

Currently, Duke is leading by seven. If they advance to the next level on the bracket, Richard is going to enhance the celebration with some home-made pimento cheese, which we'll use to make open-face cheese toast during the next game.

I'm popping the tab on a little mini-can of Coh-Cola, as she said. Lois, this one's for you.

posted by Woman In Love @ 11:26 AM