ACC basketball champs 🏆

I love the vibes in early March. College basketball brings an excitement (in my opinion) like no other.

The “win or go home” mentality is contagious and so very addictive. I typically will frequent the Duke campus once a year to relive my college days and revel in a game in the legendary Cameron Indoor Stadium. The opponent doesn’t matter, as I become a “crazie” for the day just content in cheering on my favorite team in royal blue.

For the first time in 20 years, I couldn’t find a way to squeeze in a home game so I jumped at the opportunity to fly back to my second home in NC for the ACC conference tourney. Literally 48 hours prior to departure, I booked the flight & called my college teammates that I was coming to crash their weekend. There was no guarantee that Duke would win their round of 32 game, but the odds were in my favor. Worst case, I got to spend time with some of my favorite people in this world for 30+ years.

So Friday night I drove the easy 1.5 hrs on I-40 straight to Greensboro, and enjoy pre-game touring the ACC Hall of Fame & getting ideas at the Fan Fest. Gates open and I beeline to my seat in the lower bowl that I surprisingly splurged on (10 rows up behind the basket). And my luck…. No one in the seats immediately surrounding me for the win!

Duke comes out of the opening tip strong against the #1 seed Miami and takes them down! It was the heavy dose of being at a men’s college basketball arena that I had been missing all season trying to catch games on my phone half a world away in New Zealand (16 hours ahead).

Immediately, I bought 3 tickets in nosebleed for the next night’s championship battle for Alanda and Wayne to join the “crazies” for a night. We scored a streetside free parking space and schemed the entire first half on how to make our way to the lower bowl.

The second half was a pure delight, as the blue devils dominated to clinch the ACC tournament championship & punch their ticket to the “dance”. We hung around for all the festivities, including the net cutting and player interviews from the second row.

It was a magical run and nothing beats being there to get caught up in all the hype & thrill that only college basketball playoffs can provide.