ACC

When I grew up in Florida, just 25 miles from the University of Florida, I adopted the Southeastern Conference as my favorite sports conference.  Later, living in Rochester, New York, I adopted Syracuse as my home team and pulled for the Big East, but still had a big spot in my heart for the Southeastern Conference.  Retiring to North Carolina, I adopted the Atlantic Coast Conference.  Now that we’re in the Triangle, three local teams bring almost daily sports excitement - University of North Carolina, North Carolina State and Duke.  Unlike my friends who can only like one team and hate the others, I pull for all three teams plus my alma mater, Georgia Tech.  It gets complicated when they play each other.

Naturally, I love it when my conferences do well.  I’ve cheered for the Southeastern Conference in football and took delight when they frequently won national championships.  I’ve cheered Duke and the University of North Carolina when they won national basketball championships.

This year is special.  The SEC and ACC fought it out for the  national championship in football and Clemson won a thriller.  The ACC had the best record of any large football conference in bowl games.  And the ACC won its early season shootout with the Big Ten in Basketball.  They have five teams in the top twenty nationally.

In sports, it’s difficult to predict which teams or conferences will have outstanding years.  But when your favorite teams play well, it’s a gift.

While I don’t get excited and yell at the TV and scare the dog like I used to when my teams played, I still enjoy watching sports.  It’s a special treat when they do well.

Seasoned Man

stevelem117@gmail.com