A really good day

Strike it off the bucket list. I never dreamed I'd even get the chance to do what I did this past Saturday.

It all started Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm. I got a phone call from my dad. "Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?" I don't know but usually its something great for phone calls like this. "I'm going to the Duke Game, and my seat is behind the bench." I asked "how behind the bench?" He responded "two rows." Hmm. Its tomorrow you say? How long would it take me to drive, could I get there. What about a flight? I asked the question. What if I could get there? From the background I hear "If you come you can have my ticket." Dad said "That was your mother." God bless my mother. But now my mind is really spinning.

Next step is to call my wife. "Stacey, my dad has tickets for behind the bench at the Duke game tomorrow." She was already in Ohio visiting friends. "You have to go. Buy a plane ticket. I don't care what it costs." God bless my wife.

I called my dad back. "I'll call you back in an hour. I'm going to figure out transportation. I'm coming."

I get online and find a very reasonable AirTran flight to RDU. God Bless AirTran.

"Dad I'm flying up in the morning and flying back that night. Can you pick me up?" He replied yep, I suppose so, acting as if he wasn't excited I was going to join him for the game.

I jet setted my way into Durham the next morning and my parents swung by the airport and picked me up. We headed over to Cracker Barrel. God Bless country breakfasts. We then headed to the house and killed some time until it was go time. Oh yeah we also had an Iron Duke parking pass that put us about 30 feet from the front of the stadium. God Bless elite parking spots.

We went inside the fabled mecca known as Cameron Indoor Stadium as the doors opened. We walked into the lobby and handed our tickets to the usher. "You're behind the Duke bench!" Yeah baby. We walked onto the floor....yep that's right onto the floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium. Not happening, not happening. At this point I thought I was going to cry. This was getting surreal. We handed our tickets to the next usher. "You're right here." She pointed about three feet behind her. She pointed to row B. Row A is used by....the players. Holy player perspiration batman! We sat down and the team trainer sat a bag of gear...on my feet. I almost knocked over the water cooler. This is just getting ridiculous now.

Gametime approaches. Team comes out for warmups. I could reach out and touch them. This was going to be a new kind of game watching. The kind that made you keep on your toes because a player might end up in your lap. Kyle Singler had a cut on his arm at one point. He came over to the team doctor for treatment. I could have put on the bandaid.

So what did I learn? First, the guys are huge, fast, and ridiculously strong. When you go to the hoop in D1 college basketball you better go hard. Second, sitting in seats like that is a once in a lifetime experience. I'm glad I got my once. Third, keep a good relationship with your mother so that she will offer to let you go to a once in a lifetime experience. Fourth, I truly love Duke Basketball. I will never forget that day. Being there with my dad, taking in my favorite team from an unbelievable vantage point on a day when they tied a school record for three pointers...Its awesome with a capital A.

Finally, the chip for this entry goes to the guy sitting next to us who never showed up to sit in the seat. Are you kidding me. I would have to be in a hospital...check that Duke medical center isn't too far away, I 'm sure I could work something out.