Carolina Blue

One of the things I loved about Mom was the fact that she was a big sports fan.  She adored her NY Giants and would route for Notre Dame to no avail, but nothing could come between Mom and her beloved Tar Heels.  Having graduated from UNC-Greensboro, Mom considered herself a true Tar Heel and that woman idolized the UNC basketball team, particularly during the Dean Smith era.  Back in the day, her allegiance to Carolina would rarely come between Mom and Dad, as Notre Dame used to be a football school and UNC-Chapel Hill has always been a basketball school.  Nowadays, those waters have gotten a little murky and the tide seems to have shifted.  Wonder what Mom would think this year as the Irish are ranked higher than UNC in basketball, both men's and women's!

As it turns out, Regan is a huge college basketball fan, not to mention a pretty good player herself .  When she's not shooting hoops in the driveway, she can be found watching ESPN coverage of whatever game is on, men's or women's.  Mom would have loved this.  One of the coaches Rey has worked with graduated from Notre Dame and helped lead them to the women's NCAA championship ten years ago, so Rey tends to follow the Irish a little more closely this season.

But tonight, Regan and I are going to sit down and watch one of the more storied rivalries in college basketball - UNC vs. Duke - and we'll be thinking of Mom the whole time.  The Tar Heels have to travel down the long road from Chapel Hill to Raleigh, the asphalt marked on one end with Carolina blue tar heels and the other with the Duke blue devil logo.  Tough challenge.  But I know they can rise to the occasion and Mom will be with them the whole way.  If Mom were still around, we'd chat tonight pre-game and talk about the odds.  Then we'd call each other if the game was heading in UNC's favor, and we'd definitely replay the highlights over the phone in the morning, second-guessing coaching decisions and any miscues from the refs.  Most importantly, we'd comment about the cute boys from UNC and how the Duke fans were rude, and of course opine about some of the unsightly tattoos these young guys have.  I miss these mundane conversations more than I admit.

In honor of Mom's alma mater, I'm going to make some beer bread tonight.  Knowing what I know about Mom, I figure she must have had a draught or two while at North Carolina (ya' think??) and this comfort food will lessen the sting of Mom's absence.  I will call Dad to talk about the game, but I'll spare him the "cute UNC boy" conversation.  And, I'll make sure that Regan understands how important it is to maintain allegiance to the Carolina boys.  Let's just put it this way, scholarships aside, none of my kids will be going to Duke.

Beer Bread

1/2 c sugar
3 c self-rising flour
12 oz. bottle of beer
1/2 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix sugar, flour and beer and pour into greased loaf pan.  Melt butter and pour over mixture.  Bake for 1 hour.