Please Mr. Postman

Some letters I just need to send--
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Dear NCAA--

We hereby decline your generous offer to host another sub-regional next year. No, really! We're not going to go all Johnny Paycheck on you or anything like that, but we just can't take it any more. Maples is supposed to be a House of Horrors for others, not us. This just isn't the way it is supposed to be for our team or for us either.....too much pressure! We only want to be gracious hosts when we WIN! If I had gotten tomahawk chopped one more time, I would have gone postal, I tell you!

As fans, we got booted from our seats so it wasn't all that familiar to us anyway. It's fun to sneak into the better seats until someone kicks you out who tells they bought their tickets just yesterday! Bad karma abounded.

So thanks, but no thanks. Maybe you could get Idaho State to take it instead. Their coach expressed great interest in the concept....give him a call!
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Dear Old Dominion--

You did it to us again. No, really! YOU were the ones that were supposed to beat Florida State, not us! Then we were supposed to beat the stuffing out of you! Don't you know anything about seeding? This is the second time you have contributed to our discomfort--perhaps not as dramatically as before, but just as painful in the end.

It's official--we don't like you.
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Dear Marist--

Thank you for reminding us what a joy the game can be. No, really! What fun it was to watch you pull off the unexpected. We like it when it is happening to anyone but us. Besides, you have one of the cutest mascots ever.

If you beat Tennessee, we're moving to Poughkeepsie.
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Dear Maryland and Vandy--

Thanks for losing. No, really! Us 2 seeds need to stick together! Misery loves company!

It won't take us off the ESPN continuous loop, but it at least we get to share the time with you!
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Dear Coach Yow--

Just win, baby! No, really!
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Dear Stanford Team--

It's hard to know how you are feeling right now and perhaps some of the pain will last for a very long time. But hopefully very soon you will be able to reflect on the season and know just how terrific it was. Many were ready to dismiss you early in the year with a loss to BYU and that dreadful trip to the Southeast, but you fought back. You lost 2 starting point guards yet were one of the top teams in the country. Let's face it, there is only one happy team at the end of each year and it just wasn't to be this year. But that should not diminish your devotion to yourselves and to each other.

Brooke, Clare, Kish and New--it has been our honor to watch you. Sometimes you were almost like our own kids as we watched you grow and mature, both on and off the court. Your joy made us happy, your tears made us cry. We'll miss you, but you'll never be far from our hearts.

To the rest of the team--it will be different for you next year for sure. You'll have a new dynamic to contend with--familiar faces returning and new players to get used to. But you'll hang in again and get another chance to live the Big Dream. You already know that the true joy is in the process, but maybe next year the end can be sweeter.

Right now, we are distraught just like you. I guess you don't feel this way if you don't care. Right now, it doesn't seem possible, but we'll be ready, just like you will, next year. No, really!

California Girls

OK, admit it. When was the last time you squealed with delight at the very mention of the word FRESNO. I know our house was rockin' when the bottom of the Fresno bracket was filled in with (2) Stanford!

I remember Fresno fondly because I used to go there at least once a year with my parents when I was a youngster. I got to go swimming and my dad found the best greasy hamburger place--well, he found it because our car broke down on Highway 99, but that's another story!

It probably won't be even close to the most glamorous Regional ever--so why are we so happy to be there? Well, we scoped out the area in our sub-regional visit a couple of years back so we have the lay of the land. Granted, it isn't the ritziest locale, but what could be better than staying so close to home?

Don't get me wrong--I am not overlooking the tough task ahead of us at Maples! We know, all too well, that ANYTHING can happen. (in fact, I was thinking of starting a pool to see how long into the tournament it takes for ESPN to mention Harvard vs. Stanford). But the shining light of Fresno out in the very near distance is a great motivator. Consider UConn's potential plight--how does one get to Fresno from the East Coast, anyway? Probably a bevy of connecting flights and hoping for none of that 'famous thick Fresno fog" at landing time. For us? Hop in the car, pass the Casa de Fruta, stop for a frostee in Los Banos and we're there!

Yep, we're just California Girls--and that's the way we like it!

Shootathon Saturday!

I don't know about you, but I need a little respite from basketball....whew, that PAC 10 tourney does take it out of me! In fact, I missed the Championship game last night because I got the flu! At least I could watch from home, though it never is as good as being there. I know we did a great job in supporting the team for every game and Monday was no exception. We'll need to keep up our good work all the way to Cleveland, so get ready to Rock 'n Roll!

So how much of a break do I need? Oh, just until Saturday for the Shootathon! Remember to send in your pledge sheet even if you cannot attend! This is our second largest fund raiser and we are hoping every FBCer can see their way clear to donate. I think the games this weekend should have jazzed everyone to the max! Info and pledge sheet is here--

http://www.stanfordfbc.org/FBCFiles/Shootathon.htm

Hope to see you Saturday--rest up and get ready for March Madness!