Pantana Rob's

There are important things life, and then there's Carolina basketball. Friends, family, work: these are the staples in life that make each day worth living, but they pale in comparison to the way that Roy Williams, Kendall Marshall, and the "Cream Team" make me feel (by the way - dear analysts, you can keep calling them "Blue Steel" all you want, but as long as our scrubs are 4 white guys and an Asian, they will always be the "Cream Team"). March Madness consumes me nowadays, especially after being spoiled as a freshman and "super-senior" with national championships each April. My blood pressure teeters on malignant hypertension during each game, and it's wonderful. This is the only time I can go from wanting to have Kendall's babies after a nice pass down court, to declaring him a cheating whore 60 seconds later after missing the front end of a 1 and 1. Dook-Carolina games and the NCAA tournament are the alpha and the omega of my season, and I have been blessed this year to see Carolina beat Dook in the Dean Dome and have them make a Sweet 16 run. So bring it on Syracuse/Marquette, whoever you might be.

It is with this joy (and nervous energy) that I opened up "Pantana Rob's" for the opening game. If you're not familiar with the Chapel Hill bar scene, Pantana Bob's (affectionately known as "Bob's" or "P-Bob's" by most) is an outdoor bar on Rosemary Street. It is a goto on beautiful spring days and summer nights. It's deck has wooden benches, TVs, and hosts a variety of frat-tastic 18-somethings in button-down shirts, croakies, visors, and salmon khaki shorts with a hint of J-Crew boxers peeking out the tips, near mid-thigh of course.  Pantana Rob's on the other hand only seats eight, and thigh cut shorts are a no-no. The guest list this Friday evening included Dinushika and Sarah, Klara and Evan, Alan and his Laura, and me and mine. I pulled out the big screen television so that 9:15pm Carolina - Long Island University game could be watched amidst the outside air. We dined on jalapeno and parmesan burgers (my own recipe!), southwestern beans and corn, appetizers, and topped it all off with a delicious carrot cake. The white ruskies and wine a-flowed, and the weather at 7pm was a perfect 75 degrees and sunny. It was great company on an absolutely perfect evening (especially since Carolina won). One could not ask for more on one of the last days of Spring Break. It was a calming way to begin "March Madness."

And the Madness continues! Not just with with Harrison Barnes and Co., but now with Spring Break behind us, the Boards and third year are fast approaching. We finish off school with two final blocks: Reproductive Medicine and Musculoskeletal/Dermatology. After that I have a few weeks of studying on my own before Kelly and I are (hopefully) heading to Morocco, Egypt, and Turkey. However, with what's going on in the region right now, I feel like our trip is day to day. July 1st will be here before I know it.

But back to Kendall's babies. If I had fallopian tubes, I would give him both. It would be an honor to bear his children, and I wouldn't even cry for alimony. Today, he dropped a UNC record number of dimes to get a money win against a physical Washington team that was severely underrated. Oh, the tournament atmosphere! And every moment reminds me of the great moments of years past: holding hands with John Sands during the 2005 championship game, in the Dean Dome, 15,000 fans screaming, tied 70-70, then 75-70 and sprinting to Franklin. Or how about 2009? Celebrating at Top of the Hill and looking down at the fire-happy crowd.  It makes me miss the days of sending my bracket into my Mother's work, schooling those lawyers in some NCAA b-ball and buying a Xbox with the spoils. Then there was 5th grade, when I got into an argument with my teacher about the merit of the ACC tournament as a measure of a team's success (she went to Maryland, ugh - and by the way, I was right: UNC lost the ACC tournament in 2005 and 2009, then went on to win the national championship, maybe 2011 too??). Damn I love March Madness.

If only Dook had lost today, it could have been a perfect weekend.

So it's back to school. Back to the lectures, exams, question banks, and long days. Fortunately, I have another UNC game to look forward too. That will carry me through the week. So just one final thought before I turn in and succumb to the week ahead...

Drew who?