3.0 KiB
| title | date | tags | draft | description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Again | 2024-04-09 |
|
true | Reflecting on experiences as I enter my last year of being young that made me feel much younger |
This Time Around
As I wrap up my thirties and still pass for about half my age I'm reflecting on my life so far and things that make me feel younger.
The College Life
{{< figure src="/images/ncsubelltower1.jpeg" title="NC State Bell Tower" alt="NC State Bell Tower">}}
On Monday April 15th my partner, Amara, and I went to the NC State Wolfpack basketball celebration at the bell tower on campus. Unfortunately we didn't win either the women's nor the men's tournaments but we did make it to the Final Four with some great players, teams, and just generally wonderful people. Since those tournaments were going on at the same time in different parts of the country the teams and the school wanted to get everyone together to celebrate with each other.
As a Wolfpack fan our teams sent a resounding message: "we're back!" There's a lot to be said about how the NCAA came down with sanctions on our men's basketball team in the late 1980's. We will just leave it at saying that if there were any improprieties or unethical actions in our program, I'm glad they were punished, but the punishment seemed to work too well and contributed to keeping Wolfpack basketball from the notoriety and talent we had earned. Well, no more. We're back! This season showed in many ways with both our men's and women's teams that we can go against all odds, do it with style, with skill, and with joy overflowing from our hearts.
Let's focus on one of the best examples: DJ Burns Jr. This guy is wonderful. Not only is he a large presence on the court at 6'9" but he is larger than life in real life because he's always just beaming with delight. In between plays on the court he's often smiling, laughing, dancing on the sidelines. He has an infectious joy for life that you can't help but catch even just watching him on TV. It's a bit like the sanguine happiness of the fictious Ted Lasso.
"Why not us?" became our slogan on flags, banners, shirts, and chanted everywhere throughout Wolfpack nation.
I recognize that "Why not us?" was first used by NC Central in ESPN's docuseries The Undefeated. This phrase itself isn't something that copyright law can cover as far as I'm aware since it's too generic by itself. It's why you cannot copyright a slogan like "We sell the best today" but "BestBuy" has their logo trademarked. One is just using common words, the other is using particular words/styles that are registered to only be used by the company. Anyways, I think it's always good to respect and recognize attribution and if anything else
Back on campus for this event I was reminded of so many wonderful times in my late teens and early twenties at college.