I attended the first session of the Kentucky High School Boys State Tournament yesterday, as I do just about every year. It's one of those don;t miss events that happens once a year. There are several of those for me, The Kentucky Derby, opening day of Keeneland, UK's first football and basketball games, and the Cincinnati Reds' opening. All of these events have one thing in common, they are all fun. But, when it comes to the Sweet Sixteen, it transcends all the others in fun because of the enthusiasm of the participants. It's not just the players and young people that are there, it's the joy that you see on the faces of the oldsters that help fill Rupp Arena.
I sat beside an elderly man, on oxygen, and attended by his nurse, from Prestonsburg, who was making his 50th straight visit to the tournament. I ask him about it and his eyes glowed with the passion of youth, and he proceeded to tell me about all of the games he had seen for half a century. He said the only thing that would ever keep him from coming was death. Wow! I spoke to another elderly lady, who is the wife of one of Lexington's oldest and most revered sports families, and she told me since 1942 she had only missed one state tournament. That's sixty-nine out of the last seventy years. So, I got to thinking, what is the allure?
Could it be the basketball, maybe, but there sure is an ample amount of that this time of year. Maybe it's the prospect of upsets, there sure are plenty of those as well. Maybe it just feels good to see old friends and renew a common bond that has existed, through basketball, for years. Maybe it's the young people making their first tournament appearance, their wide-eyed wonder, and shear joy of supporting their team. After all those young people have always been the same age since 1918, when the first state tournament started. Maybe that's the real reason all of us continue to enjoy watching high school kids play in the Sweet Sixteen, because for a few hours and days, we are all sixteen again.
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