Me 'n' Maddy Down at the Ballyard (Again)

The house at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville was nearly full^

The teams in a group hug after hostilities ended^

Maddy above the fray^

Maddy and Christina ("Don't call me Mamaw!")^

Sleepy Maddy and "Don't call me Pampa!" (above)^

If the Orange fits, wear it!>

This grandpa thing seems to be taking hold. Yesterday, we took Maddy up to Charlottesville to see the University of Virginia play the University of Tennessee in women's basketball and did we ever have a blast! The kid loved the game (as did her parents and grandparents, save for Christina, who has two degrees from UVa--and she didn't mind all that much because we all knew Tennessee would win--77-63).

I'm a fan of women's college basketball, the game that Coach John Wooden--quite possibly the best coach (with UT's Pat Summitt) ever in any sport--said was the best and purest form of the game played today. The UVa-UT game underscored that. Tennessee is, frankly, a better team, but UVa is a Top 20 outfit and played with a high degree of talent and flair.

This was a game UVa wanted to sell out and it came oh-so-close (11,895) with the largest crowd in Virginia (the state, not the school) history for a women's basketball game. We got there a little early and with general admission tickets were relegated to one of the corners in the upper deck. The seat was fine, but I couldn't even buy box seats downstairs. They sold out in a hurry.

This was Maddy's first women's game of any kind and my guess is she'll be playing something similar to basketball soon enough. She was as riveted as a four-year-old gets with this one and did a lot of smiling, clapping and asking of questions ("What was she doing, Pampa?").

So the reluctant grandpa is sucked in a little farther and the enjoyment of this little status is sinking deeper. But, hey, you are what you are and Pampa is what I are.