2/11/09 – The Key To My Relationship

Sometimes I joke with Matt saying “I used to like watching sports until I started dating you”. Growing up I enjoyed watching the various Boston/New England teams with my dad and brothers. And in college I finally realized how awesome baseball is and how awesomer the Red Sox are. Matt’s from Minnesota and now the Twins are my second favorite baseball team. I was pumped that Matt didn’t break up with me when Kevin Garnet went to the Celtics, although things were a little tense between us for a few days. I think it very American to have your baseball, basketball, football and even hockey teams that you support…I’m all for it! BUT, Matt likes to watch ALL teams playing ALL games ALL the time. Sometimes he will be watching a game and I’ll ask who are you rooting for and he will say he doesn’t care who wins. Then why the heck are we watching it!

Luckily we have found a common ground, a saving grace, a happy place. UNC basketball! Two years ago Matt introduced me to college basketball. I didn’t go to a big school so I never paid much attention to it. Matt went to the College of Charleston and because of the proximity, had become a fan of UNC. So he was watching a game a few years ago and I was busying myself with a magazine but my interest was piqued by how involved he was in the game. He decided to take advantage of my slight interest and run with it, explaining who all the players were and telling me how he had met the coach, Roy Williams. The more I watched the more drawn in I became by the speed and the energy of the game, things that are missing from the NBA.

Well since then I’ve been hooked. I check the ESPN schedule and make dates with Matt for when they are going to be broadcasting a UNC game. The past few televised games have been on Wednesday nights and since Matt’s roommate is a huge Lost fan, we are quarantined to his bedroom, where we sit at the edge of his bed, drinking beer, and shouting/cheering at his little television. Tonight UNC plays Duke, their archrival. We have had this date marked down for weeks! I’m very excited for the game and to have something to share with my favorite guy.

It is about 60 degrees out! It is days like this that make me empathize with the cavemen who panicked when the sun went down, fearing that it will never come back up. You would think I never heard of spring OR summer the way I freak out about days like this ending. So to remind us all that summer will eventually get here, today’s song is Will Smith’s Summertime.