Yearly Dilemma

For the past three or so years, I have had the same dilemma. Now let me preface this by saying, this is not too serious of a dilemma, and really, it's one I'm blessed to have.  But as a girl who has always been indecisive (I'm trying SO hard to work on this rather icky trait), I hate something that makes me feel like a little bit of a hot mess.

I just penned all of the 2010-2011 Carolina Basketball games into my calendar. And I got SO excited.  Like giddy, butterflies in the pit of my stomach excited. I saw this is a year where we end the season with Duke at home and I got even more excited.

But then I got stressed. Enter dilemma. Am I a football girl or a basketball girl?

I grew up playing basketball. I've played since I was six years old and I have always been in love with the game. While not exactly a star player, I held my own which was huge for me. I've never really been athletic and to be able to competently play a sport (and even be relied upon to make the big plays) was a dream come true. There is nothing to me like the feeling of playing. I miss nothing more than playing basketball. 

I know my dad always wanted a kid who was good at sports and for me to even come close to doing that for him gave me the biggest sense of pride. Granted there are regrets.  I didn't practice enough to become the kind of player I really could have been and that will go down as one of the biggest regrets of my life. But for those few seasons when I was the "man" on my team - the one they would go to when they needed a winning three pointer, the one who played every second of the game - I was in love with the game of basketball.

So when my dad announced near the end of my high school career that we were getting UNC season tickets, I screamed. Lots. I've watched Carolina basketball since before I could speak much - "Yucky Wolf and Duke ::stick out tongue::" were among my first words/actions. I became the biggest Shammond Williams fan in the history of life at a young age. I was also fortunate enough to see a National Championship my freshman year of college (words.cannot.describe.this.experience). I love the Dean Dome, I love the defensive drill before games, I love the "I'm a Tar Heel" videos, I love the time my dad and I get to spend together at games, I love that you get to know every player on an individual level - I love Carolina basketball. It's also nice that I "get" it. Having played for over 13 years, I understand what's happening in basketball. I can read plays, I know the rules, I have a good grasp on basketball.

Now, let's talk football. I became a college football fan much later in life. I started getting into it at the end of high school and really started following it my freshman year when I went we went to a bowl game (Yeah, my freshman year was awesome).  Of course, I had always gone to the games, but I had never considered myself a die hard. Fast forward to now. Saturdays during football season are really my reason for living. I love wearing my football dress, tailgating and watching the Heels in Kenan. I have been known to cry when we lose big games (hello Meineke Car Care bowl 08 and 09, and LSU game 2010). I love Carolina football. Football is complicated though. There are some plays I really don't understand and sometimes a penalty is called and I'm left clueless. But nothing is better than a victory in Kenan.

If you asked me during football season, I'd tell you I was a football girl without hesitation.  But when basketball season comes around, I start to remember how much I love the sport and how much Carolina basketball has been a part of my life.

So am I a football girl or a basketball girl? At this point, I still don't know. But here's to another year of both, trying to figure it out. GO HEELS!