Love in the time of Bobby Knight

I noticed Boston College is paired to play Texas Tech in the first round of this year’s NCAA tournament, Peter. Wow. This will be interesting.

Remember when we used to watch the tournament together? Me, the rabid Hoosiers college hoops fan, having attended Indiana University during two of their national championships, and you, the former Boston resident who ditched the metropolis for the back woods of Michigan?

Me, who watched the Hoosiers decimate the competition under “the General,” Bobby Knight, during my 1980s college career, and you, who went to college in the ‘60s. Our May/December relationship shared a common lust for basketball among other things.

I know you’ll be rooting for BC. I remember you called them your team. The General has parlayed his firing from IU into a Texas Tech team worthy of tournament bids. I hope my favorite, hotheaded, chair-throwing coach can parlay his worth into a win over BC in the first round.

I know you’ll be watching. I wonder if you’ll remember my intense jumping around and screaming at the TV while Indiana basketball was being played. I couldn’t contain myself during tournament games.

I wonder whether you’ll think of the way you dumped me when I said I wanted kids, like IU bailed on Bobby. I wondered whether Bobby would ever recover. He did. I’ve got two kids of my own now. Just like Bobby, I found another team.

I hope Indiana can get through the first round under Kelvin Sampson, but somehow I don’t care about that game as much as I do the BC/Texas Tech pairing. IU has shown a propensity to choke away from Assembly Hall, so I doubt they’ll get far. But I’ll be watching the tournament, and rooting for Texas Tech.

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Caroline A. McNabb is a freelance writer from Orange County. She can be reached at carolinemcnabb@yahoo.com