Saturday, March 5, 2011

March Madness


Vern's return to the T&M in March 2007
 Basketball was a big part of our life right from the very beginning. Vern was a high school basketball coach when we married in 1969 and he coached all of the years we lived in Michigan.  I kept stats for him, even bringing Jeremy to the games in his car seat where he would sleep in the midst of all the cheers.  When we moved to Nevada in 1982, he coached the first year at a tiny school about an hour outside of Las Vegas. It presented some major challenges, with road trips to comparable-sized schools taking many hours each way. I think we figured out he made less than 5 cents an hour coaching that year.  He was able to transfer to a school in town the next year and he gave up coaching to work at the new Thomas & Mack Center at UNLV evenings and weekends. Basketball remained an important part of our lives, as we followed our Runnin' Rebels to the NCAA championship in 1990. Such fun times and some great memories.

Vern's favorite sports were college football and college basketball, but there weren't many sporting events shown on tv that he didn't watch. I got used to the tv being on constantly and during the cancer battle I spent a lot of time watching sports with him. He enjoyed it and it gave us some nice times together. I wanted to get him back to Columbus so he could see his beloved Buckeyes play in The Horseshoe, but he just wasn't strong enough for that long plane ride. Instead, we were able to see Ohio State play USC in the Coliseum in September 2008. It was a real struggle getting him into that old stadium and maneuvering the many stairs, but he was so excited to be there. Well, that was before the game started.  Yes, we were there for that big blowout 35-3 loss.

Since Vern passed I haven't watched any sports on tv. I'm comfortable with the quiet. But now that it's 'March Madness' time I'm thinking I may need to watch some games. If it's allowed up in Heaven, I know Vern will be watching along with me!

4 comments:

Barbara said...

This was a wonderful post Diane.. oh the memories.. I cling to these too.. our sport was Baseball.. every year we would go to the home opener for the Phils.. I think I will take my Dad this year.. be well.

Anne said...

I very much struggle with anniversary dates. Also like you some of the shared memories seem too hard to deal with on my own. I would love to think my man was sharing with me as well:-)

jaloysisus said...

I'm pretty sure he's getting to watch all the basketball he wants. This was a great post, even with the inclusion of the name of that team down south of Ann Arbor. Thanks for this insight into your life.

Anonymous said...

Hi Dianne, of course I wrote this big long comment and then hit a wrong button and it was gone. Anyway, thank you for sharing you memories of Michigan. I left in 1972 and never knew what happened to anyone. I am so glad you are going to the widow's conference, I think you will find that you are one of the younger attendants. I don't know if you by any chance caught Dr. Oz yesterday. I don't usually watch him, but The guy that claims he can talk to the people on the other side was on the show. Edwards is his last name. Anyway, he has a new book about going through grief and Dr. Oz seemed to endorse it as something that might help some people through that process. I am sure you could catch the show on line from yesterday. He talked mostly on feeling the presence of a loved one who has passed over. I thought it was thought provoking. Anyway. Good to see you are who you are and not trying to be something that someone else expects you to be. You must remember The authentic You is the you that Vern loved to the core of his being, so therefore You must be exceptional , even if you doubt itl
God Bless and Keep you
Gloria