March Madness

Today's a big day!  First day of the NCAA tournament and it's also St. Patrick's Day.  It's a big day for basketball, and a big day for the Mountaineers, as they start everything off at 12:15PM.  I"m really excited for the day, and I'm looking forward to getting back to Morgantown soon.  In the mean time, here's a little video to reflect on our season thus far...



Let's Goooooo Mountaineers!!!

Forty years of the WVU Coliseum

Last week, my dad, my uncle, Jamie and I were able to go to see WVU play UConn at the Coliseum.  I tried to capture the moment with a photo, but my big head got in the way of my dads face :(  It was an awesome game, and it was absolutely incredible to share in the celebration with my dad, Russ, and Jamie.  The team looks like it is starting to come together strong and just in time for the Big East Tourney.  Perhaps next year, I will have the foresight to schedule some time off and we will be able to land tickets to watch this legendary tournament in the Garden!  Until then, I will savor the memory of another Mountaineer win, and get geared up to watch the defending Big East Champion mountaineers play their first game game on TV with friends Wednesday night.

While we were there, this video played and it got me a little nostalgic.



The video walks through the 40 years of the WVU Coliseum's existence.  As I watched the video, I have to admit I got a little emotional. I started thinking about games I was able to see with friends and family over the years.  I reflected on photos my brother took when I was little and he was a WVU student in the early 80s.  I thought about listening to Jack Fleming on my dad's transistor radio as he made home made pizza's.  I remembered the disdain for Pitt for Pitt that was instilled in me from an early age via "Beat Pitt" signs on buildings in my home town of Parkersburg.

Finishing my undergrad and graduate degrees here in Morgantown, I have many more memories of going to games as soon as my classes were over and waiting to be allowed into the building.  I remember  the excitement of having a roommate who served as our mascot, the Mountaineer.  And I remember names of players.  People like Dale Blaney, Lester Rowe from Buffalo, Darryl Prue, Chris Brooks, Adrian Pledger, PG Green, Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, Da'Sean Butler and more comprise the stuff of legend for Mountaineer fans during the Coliseum era.

I wonder what the next 40 years will look like?  If God would be gracious enough to allow me to be a father, I imagine we will probably spend time in a similar way, only this time, listening to Tony Caridi on the radio and sharing stories of many Mountaineer greats and legendary exploits as we are able to attend games ourselves.

I hope you enjoy the video, and, if you grew up in this state, I hope this video brings back some of those great Mountaineer basketball memories for you as well!

And, wouldn't it be something if we were able to get a second Big East Championship this week? :)

WVU Final Four Rally Video

I wasn't sure time would permit me the opportunity to post this, and many have already seen this video, but as we come down to the final hours before our final four appearance with Duke, I thought it might be cool to allow folks to have one more look at what WVU Basketball has done since February 22.

I'm in California with my brother right now, and we were talking briefly last night about what it means to be a West Virginian. If you aren't from West Virginia, this video, and Coach Huggin's words at the very beginning might not have the depth of meaning that WVU alum and WV residents experience when when we hear those words.

We have a lot to celebrate in Wild, Wonderful West Virginia. As I sit in my brother's house to write this post, I can't help but think how difficult it is at times for West Virginians who are dispersed abroad. If I were not in California for a conference, I would probably be in Indy watching tonight's game. It's been a pretty phenomenal year, and I'm glad my brother will not have to watch tonight's game by himself! (As a tangent, we've been reppin' dub-V and wearing Gold & Blue everywhere we go out here! . . .& it ain't gonna stop!)

Enough about me and my brother for now, let's talk about West Virginia. Tonight, virtually every television in the state will be tuned into the game. Just like back in 1959 when virtually every radio in the state was tuned to listen to WVU playing Cal for a national championship. The games are being broadcast in workplaces because this is something special that all West Virginian's get excited about.

I'm hopeful for tonights game. It's been a pretty incredible season, and we just have 2 more games to win to make history.

Wherever you are watching the game, I hope you are able to soak up the fullness of this special time for Mountaineers everywhere "From Morgantown to Matewan and all points in between!"

Let's Goooooooooooooo Mountaineers!!!

West Virginia Community

In a night during which number one seeded Syracuse fell to the Butler Bulldogs, the mighty Mountaineers of West Virginia University persevered and prevailed over the Washington Huskies and is now the last remaining Big East Conference team in the NCAA tournament as they move toward the elite eight.
Across the mountain state (and across the entire Mountaineer Nation), family and friends gathered around televisions to watch the Mountaineers play one more game on the road to a national championship. I sat with about a dozen others in the home of my first college roommate, Jimmy Shreeves, and really enjoyed the night and the victory.
For people outside this state, it’s hard to understand what it means to be advancing in the tournament like this. West Virginia doesn’t have a professional sports team, and for many people in our state, we rally behind the Mountaineers with the tenacity and passion of fans of pro teams.
Our state is victim to a number of stereotypes, & maybe sometimes it feels like we get a lot of negative press and sand kicked in our face. But when something good happens in this state, we all share in a sense of pride. In a manner of speaking, we can stick out our chests and say, “That’s our team!” People here care about the team like they care about their own family. There’s a special sense of community we have that permeates this state. Together, we celebrate the fact that we are Mountaineers. Together we celebrate the successes and the positives that emerge from the Mountain State.
It may be hard to understand for people outside this state, but there is a sense of solidarity here that is hard to imagine. People who routinely could give a rip about basketball are celebrating the success of our team--not because of a newfound love of basketball, but because of a deep sense of pride in our wonderful home in the hills of Appalachia.
And for our growing mass of mountaineer fans abroad. Come visit this state. Visit Morgantown. Come see why we believe this place is special. And keep rooting on the Mountaineers!!!

Saint Patrick's Day Fun

It's been a few days since my last blog post, and today is Saint Patrick's Day. I thought I'd share a couple of fun videos with you to celebrate the day. But, if you are interested in a more serious look at the holiday, here's an older blog post that explores a bit of who Saint Patrick was.

The first video is a news story from Mobile, Alabama. It appears that the residents may have discovered a leprechaun living in a tree in their suburb. Enjoy.



And for those of you who missed the wonderful dance moves of WVU basketball player John Flowers, here's a little video to get you ready for the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and in case you've been living under a rock, or in a cave. WVU won it's first ever Big East Tournament this year.




Personally, I'm really proud of our team, and I'm looking forward to watching them play and win six more games before their season is over. Let's go Mountaineers!!!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!!

Rebound

Rebound, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Last week, through the help of some great friends, I made it to watch the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. You might consider it an early birthday present, or an early easter gift. Whatever it could be considered, I consider it GREAT!!!

This photo was taken from my seat for the first round game against Arizona. I tried to get some good shots, but my little digital camera didn't fare so well with the fast pace of college basketball--most of my pics were a little blurry (it doesn't help that I don't have really steady hands!).

So this photo is from the first half of the Arizona game. Look at our guys box out on a free throw. I had a really great seat for each round, and it was lot's of great basketball. I was there for the near upset of Belmont over Duke, and watched our fellas triumph over Arizona.

In the words of Tony Caridi, "It's a great day to be a Mountaineer, whereever you may be!"

I just happened to be four rows from the floor in the Verizon Center for this one.

My Enchanted Life

My Enchanted Life, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Yesterday things just seemed to go well for me. I went to get a physical yesterday afternoon. While I was in the desert, I realized that I haven't had a check up in about 10 years, so maybe it was about time. Although it took a while to get in (because of a computer system glitch), it was still cool, because I could do some work while I waited. This week is a week chock full of meetings so every "free" moment counts. Plus, I'm planning to see my dad and sister this weekend, so I don't want to be encumbered or distracted by any projects--ya know.

So I had this physical, and I'm in EXCELLENT health. Great resting heart rate and BP of 120/82. I also had bloodwork done, and my results were STELLAR to say the least. My number for sugars was easily below 100, and my number for cholesterol was also well below the critical 200 number. So I am free and clear to start an exercise program--not that I had any worries, but you always hear that blurb about consulting a physician before you start.

So now I am planning an intense exercise program. I'm going to ease into it this week, and then turn up the intensity next week. I am amazed sometimes at my degree of health and well being in light of the busy-ness that often saturates my life. Maybe a lot of it has to do with the way I go about life-trying to savor each and every moment, and making the most of it.

Speaking of savoring the moment, I just received a tremendous gift from my friends (and fellow mountaineer fans!) Jeremiah and Kim. That's Jeremiah in the photo with me. We are grinning from ear to ear because we just watched Pitt get stomped!!! Jeremiah and Kim had an extra ticket for last night's game, and so I was able to be there guest and sit on the second row to watch WVU trounce Pitt. It was glorious! I even made a cameo appearance on ESPN last night! (I will be available for autographs and interviews later today around Morgantown.)

Although life throws all of us some curve balls from time to time, I have been able to live a pretty enchanted life. I mean who gets a ticket to the biggest game of the year the day it happens--and who gets a seat on the second row? I was less than ten feet away from the ESPN crew.

I am thankful for it all--every moment is precious. Let's go mountaineers!!!!

Waterboyz and Changing Tides

Waterboyz, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Last night, we almost pulled the biggest upset in our league, and I think that's worth blogging about. Ordinarily, when you lose a game, or even a few games it's not something you want to talk about.

But this team and our community is totally different. Last night we ended the game, and although losing isn't the most fun thing in the world, we were able to spend some time with a bunch of our friends who came out to support us and it was simply wonderful!

The game was a lot of fun--we were playing against what I believe is the best team in the league, and we even led at a few points. We played as a team, and I heard one guy say that if we had just a little more time, he thought we might have pulled out the victory.

Honestly, the way we played together, we did pull out a victory. And being able to walk over to a crowd of 30-40 close friends who were cheering us on gave us an even greater victory. We were able to pray together, and thank God for keeping us injury free, and beyond this we were even able to thank God for the community and the conversations that were happening all through the game among our friends.

I never would have anticipated this would be sooo much fun! We even have a mascot now, a Newfoundland (water rescue dog) named Baxter!

Even though we lost, I think the tides are changing for the better for the Waterboyz and our community of friends and supporters!

Go waterboyz!!!

Waterboyz and Some of Our Loyal Fans

Waterboyz and Some of Our Loyal Fans, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Tonight we played our first CRC basketball game, and the results were a little less than we had hoped--we lost the game. But we gained so much more. I think we all had some serious jitters, and that will happen. Very few of us had played basketball together before, and we just lacked a little bit in confidence.

But it wasn't as a result of our fans. We had a large turnout to support us, and they had even more fun than we did I think.

And that's just the thing. You know, I had this mindset early in the week that we were just going to do so well with basketball--and I don't feel like any of us played up to our capabilities. But we had fun. We laughed. We had fun with our wonderful fans.

We had community. I made a couple of new friends tonight, and I think we all had some good laughs and some exciting moments on and off the court.

And more than that, we had each other. Community is such a gift. Regardless our outcome with these games, this is just a great group of people to hang out with.

If you are in town for our next game (April 9th) I hope you will come out and get in the mix!!!

Go Waterboyz!!!

Upset!!!

Upset!!!, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

If this is the first news you have heard about this, then you need to crawl out from under the rock where you've been living. We beat UCLA Saturday, and I was there--as were several thousand other mountaineer fans!!! This is probably the biggest upset in WVU history, and, the entire game was exciting.

What made this game better for me was the fact that I could enjoy it with my dad and brother in law. A win with family is even better than just a win. (don't get me wrong--a win against the #2 team in the country is great no matter how you slice it!)

In the words of Tony Caridi, "It's a great day to be a Mountaineer wherever you may be!!!" And this evening, I will be in Georgetown hopefully watching the mountaineers beat the hoyas (whatever a hoya is?). Be sure to look for me on TV with a few of my DC friends.

Rousing Words

Rousing Words, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Saturday, I went to the UCLA game with my dad and brother in law. For the last two years, my dad and I have made a habit of sitting in the student section and enjoying the home games together. As my degree comes to an end, this will probably be one of the benefits I miss the most.

Before the game though, I was thoroughly impressed. Coach John Beilein came over to the student section and shared his heart with the students. He encouraged students to be supportive and cheer loudly, but not to indulge in some of the disrespectful cheers and behaviors of a few students that had emerged over the last few home games. He told the students that they were smarter than some of the phrases that were coming out of their mouths, and to consider the fact that somebody's grandma was over in another section, and another person's little sister was on the other side of the colisseum. He also shared the fact that we would be on national television, and it might affect future appearances if we don't show the nation today that we are a class act.

I appreciated his words. Sometimes folks get a little wound up, and say/do some things that are inappropriate, and I can't think of a more eloquent and respectul way to communicate with the students than the way Coach Beilein went about it. He's a class act through and through, and I really appreciate what he has done for the reputation of the university, the team, and the fans.

WVU Basketball Recruiting

I just saw this video on youtube, and well, I think every person in the state fell in love with this team. The video is a little bit long, but I'm sure it will bring to mind some great memories of the 2004-05 season. Let's go Mountaineers--basketball season is just around the corner!!!

Sweet Sixteen Bound

Sweet Sixteen Bound, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

I just finished watching WVU roll into the sweet sixteen for the second year in a row. Mike Gansey is one of the key players making it possible. He and Kevin Pittsnogle have been nominated as finalists for a number of post season awards. Gansey represented the United States last summer in the World University Games.
I really love watching these guys play basketball. It has been so fun these last four years watching Mountaineer basketball. It's a little different from actually being in the game, but these guys play good fundamental basketball so well, that it is a delight to watch.
Growing up, there were two sports that captivated me. Baseball and Basketball. Basketball became my pastime from about sixth grade on. I traded my cleats for Chuck Taylors and got in the game. I can remember riding my bike down to the city park in Parkersburg and playing basketball from the time I got out of school until just before dark (my dad wanted me home for dinner and so that meant being home before dark).
What was your sport of choice growing up? Was there a game that you could just spend the whole day playing? Watching these games and being a part of March Madness brings back a lot of magical memories for me. Basketball is one of the great loves of the Williams boys, starting with my dad's generation.
What's your game of choice?

Pittsnogled

WVU2.JPG, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Kevin Pittsnogle is one of the hottest players in college basketball this year. He has a good shot at going to the NBA, and he is from my state--West Virginia. As a result of his ability to shoot at will over most defenders (even when double teamed), people have given a name to this feat. It's called getting "Pittsnogled."
It has been exciting watching Kevin and the rest of this year's WVU basketball team play one of the toughest schedules in the country, and maintain a top twenty five ranking throughout the season.
Be sure to watch as much march madness as you can--it only comes once a year. And cheer on the Mountaineers of West Virginia University. They are a great group of guys, and have won the hearts and loyal support of their campus, community, and state.
Of course I have filled out brackets for March Madness, and of course, I pick WVU to win it all--why not? Have you filled out a bracket? If so, who are your picks?

WVU Vs Notre Dame

WVU Vs, originally uploaded by chanchanchepon.

Well the last couple of days have been a lot of fun. I had hoped to take my dad to the big east basketball tournament this year as a Christmas present, but unfortunately the tickets/hotel/food all look to be way beyond our price range. (The face value on tickets is $310/each, and the cheapest I have seen them online is $425).

Instead of going to the tournament, I managed to get my dad a student guest ticket to all of the remaining WVU home games. He came up Wednesday to watch WVU play against Notre Dame. Tomorrow morning we watch WVU play Cincinnati.

It has been really cool spending time with my dad too. We went for a six mile hike this afternoon at Cooper's Rock. One of my favorite places in the Morgantown area.

From the moment WVU hit their first three point shot of the game, I knew my dad really enjoyed his present. Watching this team play is a lot of fun, but sharing experiences like this with my dad is priceless.