I won’t be at the final game in San Antonio tonight between Memphis and Kansas. Though I was invited.
And then uninvited.
Friday afternoon Randy Harris called me and said that he would have an extra ticket for Monday night’s game. The guy who always goes with him (and actually supplies the tickets) could be there Saturday but not Monday. He asked if I’d like to drive down.
“Are you kidding?” I replied. I’ve always wanted to go to a Final Four game.
“Great. Well, you probably ought to try to get here by 3:00.”
That’s when I reminded him that since I was teaching his class so that he could be there I wouldn’t be able to get away until 2:00.
The line got quiet.
He’d forgotten that I was the one covering his Monday class.
The bad news is that I won’t be going. I’ll be in the classroom. The good news is that Randy felt so bad about asking the person who was filling in so HE could go . . . that I’m probably in the front of the line for a future invite!
Go Tar Heels! . . . oh, yeah.
I want to be the first to tell you that you are a first class scholar and preacher, but are a loser when it comes to predicting the outcome of basketball games. Whatever you do please, please do not pick Memphis to win tonight. I have waited for 35 years for this night. I still remember watching then Memphis State get destroyed by Walton and company. Go Tigers!!!!!
I saw the Final Four in 1971, when it was in Houston, in the Astrodome…
Kansas, UCLA, Western Kentucky, Villanova…
Some great names in basketball history: Jo Jo White, Sidney Wicks, Curtis Rowe, Swen Nater, Jim McDaniels, Howard Porter… My Dad and I sat out in the center field bleachers and watched the ballgame; the court basically straddled second base…
Good times !!!
My dad is a KU alum and we were looking online to buy tickets for all three games. The only tickets worth having were about $2k each.
We’ll be watching the game on tv tonight.
In my final year of grad school (1995), Martha and I got to go to Seattle for the Final Four. That year it was Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, and UCLA. Arkansas got beat in the finals by UCLA, but it was a great experience. My wife told someone the other day that she would go again if someone had a ticket for her…even if Arkansas wasn’t in it. Maybe she can go with Randy. It is a great experience. BTW, I think I paid $70 for all three games (student ticket rates). I was offered $800 immediately. Are you kidding me!?!? I was going to see the Razorbacks!
Life is tough. Hope ya make it through. We’ll be “a parayin fur ya.”
That’s tough… I would of backed out of the class (or found someone ELSE to cover it) and gone.
This is Memphis’ year. The Tigers will win.
What do you mean? Kansas invented the game!
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
I can almost hear the deafening silence on Randy’s end. Wow! Too funny!
Now, the real challenge is to see which one of you can beat the other in using it in a sermon illustration.
Never mind Randy Harris and the Final Four. Thanks to you, I have “Almost Persuaded” stuck in my head. Thanks just a whole lot.
Let the family feud begin. My mother is a rabid KU fan (apparel, jewelry, stuffed animal,cookie cutter!!!!!) Grant, on the other hand, has been a Memphis fan since childhood. They’re not speaking right now! HA!
Grant had a similar thing happen yesterday. A friend came up to him at church and told him he had a chance at a couple of tickets for tonight’s game and was going to call him, but it all seemed a bit too complicated. What?!?!?!?!? Grant said, “Did I mention that Memphis is only my favorite college team?!?!?!?!” The friend was truly horrified!
Jonathan, we, too, checked about tickets and they were available to the tune of a couple thousand bucks. Yes, we’re sitting in den right now.
Hard to say how this game is going to shake out….
“Sad, sad, the bitter wail”…..
Go Tigers.
qb predicts Kansas will win in OT, by 7 points or so.
qb
“Almost…but lost”
What a great game! Totally worth staying up past my bedtime and having the bleary eyes to prove it today.