Panther Power!!

They did it! They made it to the State Championship! I’ve been a fan of the Monroe City

R-1 High School basketball teams since freshman year and they haven’t disappointed me yet. This past March the boys basketball team made it all the way to the Final Four, and even better, achieved second place! To be fair, we made it to the Final Four last year too, but due to the pandemic, hardly anyone got to go watch the game and we didn't even get to play the second game leaving us to tie for 3rd place. Thankfully, unlike last year, we were able to get tickets to the games! The games were held in Springfield, Missouri. On our way to the games we listened to The 2 Dubs Show podcast and let’s just say, their enthusiasm got us pumped for this weekend.

The whole town congregated at the University Plaza right next to the stadium. The lobby was nice and big; plenty of room to maneuver around if you are in a wheelchair. We asked for a handicap accessible room and, as you can see, the room was plenty big. Even the bathroom was big enough to get my wheelchair in and out. The only problem with the room was that it was on the second floor, so it required us to use the elevator. This isn’t usually a problem, but at this specific hotel and during this specific weekend it could have been disasterous. Right before leaving the hotel for the championship game we noticed a commotion by the elevators in the lobby. People were swarming the area. Through the glass walls of the elevators, you could see it was full of people unable to get out. It turned out that while they were using the elevator to head to the game, it crashed down from the second floor! How scary!! The local fire department had to come and, thankfully, they got everyone safely out. Most importantly, everyone made it to the game on time.

From Mary: Well, here's kind of a embarrassing part of the trip. If you can imagine, it take's a bit of packing and organizing for us to go on a trip; even a weekend long trip. There are a few key items we have gotten used to looking for before we leave; the suction pump and ventilator being the most important. On this particular trip we had to take our dog, Buhdster, to his dog-sitter in town. This meant we would be passing back by our house on the way to the game. On the way from town, before getting back to our road, we went over all the stuff we needed so we would just be able to easily stop and get it. We yelled out, suction pump? yep. ventilator? yep. cough assist? yep. medicine bag? yep. feeding supplies? yep. powerchair charger? yep. all the other chargers? yep. distilled water? yep. You know what we didn't yell out? Clothes.

That's right, we left our one suitcase that had our clothes and toiletries in it on our bed at home. Neither Danny nor I put it in the van. Although we quickly laughed about it, it was disappointing as we had packed our special gold and black shirts that we were supposed to wear to the games. Luckily, we had gotten to town with plenty of time and a quick trip to Wal-Mart had us prettly well covered. Plus, some friends who were coming the following day were able to bring the suitcase to us. But still, how do you leave your clothes? You know we'll be calling that out next time.

If only that were mom's only embarrasing moment!!

After our suitcase mishap was figured out, we went to the game! While we were finding a parking spot, mom and I noticed a crowd of people outside the stadium wearing black and gold. We all were so excited about the game that mom rolled down her window and shouted out the beloved Monroe cheer, M-O-N!! expecting to hear in return, R-O-E! However, to her embarrassment, not a single person responded. crickets........and a few stares. It wasn’t until after we waited in the long line and were told at the door that we were at the wrong stadium, that this uncharacteristic lack of Panther fan excitement was explained. They weren’t Panther fans. 🤦‍♀️

The games were amazing! I found that the largeness of the stadiums and the loudness of the crowd fully immersed me into full fan mode! I mean, how could you be sleeping during the most important games of the year?!!

Our boys did an amazing job that weekend; second place is not too shabby. I wouldn’t be surprised if we come back for that gold medal next year! Thank you so much to these fantastic men for a great and entertaining season and taking pictures with me! You sure know how to make a fan feel special! I can’t wait to see you guys here next year!