My family and I ventured out Saturday evening to the University at Albany's SEFCU Arena. It was the university's annual Big Purple Growl homecoming/alumni basketball game. As usual, SEFCU Arena saw a nearly sold out crowd. The festivities kicked off with the women's basketball game at 4:30pm, followed by the Purple Growl Feast, and culminating with the men's game at 7:00pm, in which they defeated Stony Brook 64-46.
The highlight of the evening, for us, was when our two sons, Dan and Jacob, were picked to participate in halftime festivities. Each boy had to shoot free throws from the foul line. The one who sank the most baskets in the 30 second time frame would win a prize. Dan, the older of the two, hit 5 out of 7 shots (from the foul line) not bad for a 10 year old fifth grader. Jacob wasn't quite as successful in his attempt, but he did give it the old college try. In the end they both walked away with gift certificates to a local ice cream parlor, along with memories that will last them a lifetime.
One thing I noticed, as I was sitting in the bleachers enjoying the game with my family, is the tremendously great time everyone was having. Here were 7,500 people celebrating their favorite college basketball team. It was one of those sweet pieces of life that I will savor for awhile.
Wouldn't it be great if we could celebrate life like that every day?
