Final Fours

First, to continue with my travelogue - we leave Chicago. It was, in the words of Frank Sinatra, a toddlin' town, although I have know idea what that means. If "toddlin" means "really cold", then right on Frank. It was April and sunshiny, but still incredibly cold. And it wasn't just because I'm a whimp. The native Chicagoans on the street were all bundled up in their heavy coats. Above is the Sears Tower, which now is called the Willis (What you talkin bout) Tower. I went inside and took an escalator to the second floor. That's as far up as I cared to go, thank you.

But more importantly - Louisville is playing in the Final Four for the Men and the Women. That would be cool for them to win both championships or at least one. UK is closer to where I live, but I'm fine with rooting for Louisville. UK fans generally hate Louisville. In Oregon, there is a rivalry between UO and OSU which is usually fairly good natured (e.g., How do you keep beavers out of your front yard? Put up goal posts). This rivalry is nothing like that. It is hard core. Even though they're just an hour apart, UK fans don't seem to be able to root for Louisville even in this championship game. In researching this, I discovered it used to be not as bad. It seems the thing that sent UK fans over the edge is when their coach, Rick Pitino, left. He didn't just leave. He went to Louisville. Apparently that was bad, bad, bad. Not having that history, I'm pulling for Louisville. The bad part is the game doesn't start until like 9:30 Eastern time. That is perilously close to my bedtime, and that's just the tip off. So looks like a long night for me. Rick, you better make it worth it for me.