March 2010
A Very Sweet, Sweet 16
March 21, 2010
I've been enjoying the Sweet 16 state basketball tournament since I was in high school. Some of my best memories are of crashing with my friends in Louisville and Lexington during state tournament week. The pinnacle of those memories was the 1988 tournament when Clay County's Ritchie Farmer had the epic duel with Ballard's Allen Houston in Freedom Hall. I've been lucky enough to get to cover the Sweet 16 for the last five years, for a variety of newspapers and the Associated Press.
Now, instead of watching Ritchie Farmer on the court, I bump into him in the men's room, in the media room under Rupp Arena, and talk to him about the now irrelevant question of whether or not UK can beat Kansas in the Final Four. To me, the district and regional tournaments, along with the Sweet 16 and NCAA Tournament, signal the end of winter and the beginning of Spring time in the Commonwealth. These few weeks in March are only rivaled to me with the weeks of deer season in November.
My Dad and Cameron came down on Friday night to watch Cameron's beloved Shelby Valley play West Jessamine
Shelby Valley celebrated on the floor of Rupp Arena after beating Louisville Ballard 73-61, to become the first Pikeville team to ever win the state tournament.
Coach Jason Boohers hugs tourney MVP Elisha Justice.
The final game on Saturday night is always filled with tears.
Some of joy...
and some not so joyful
I've taken flack occasionally for photographing athletes while they're crying. Here are my thoughts on why I do this. When an athlete walks out on the court, they're there to perform in front of an audience. And losing is as much a part of the performance as winning. As a photographer, I'm there to capture the story. In championship games the heartbreak of losing is as important as the the thrill of winning. On the court, everything is fair game. Once they step off, I put my camera down.
The confetti rains down when the horn sounds at the end...
but not everyone can enjoy watching it fall.
I was happy to see Marla Gearhart become the first female referee to call the championship game. Marla was a star basketball player while I was at EKU. Ironically, she is from Carter County. I drive by her house each time I go deer hunting.
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