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Just to show you what a class act the Barneveld girls basketball team is - they didn't win the Division 5 state championship Saturday, but when they received their silver (runner-up) medals and trophy they posed for a team photo for the crowd the coaches kept peeking over their shoulders and made sure the girls turned around and watched (and applauded) the champion Assumption team members as they received their medals and team trophy. The two teams were at separate ends of the gymnasium at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon (Green Bay).
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Above is a shot of some of the Barneveld band and crowd as a TV cameraman focuses on the drum section. Fennimore's band (also named the Eagles) joined Barneveld in making a pretty good band at the tournament. Note: a good share of the normal Barneveld band members were on the court during the tournament!
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Speaking of the Resch Center and Green Bay, the area really rolled out the red carpet for the girls' teams. They are under a two-year window of hosting the tournament and are really trying to keep the tournament there. It's a great place for the tournament except for the fact that it's a three hour drive from here, but at the same time a lot closer for the Green Bay area teams that usually are at state. It was a different experience for Barneveld however, as this was their eighth trip to state and the first time they have not been able to stay in their own homes the night before each game. The Resch Center seating is much more conducive for basketball as compared to the Alliant Center in Madison, a place where the tournament has been held at times. Myself, I like the old Fieldhouse and its atmosphere. That's where state tournament basketball began for the girls in 1976. Oh, and that's where the Dodgeville boys played in 1963 and 1964 when they finished as runners-up and state champions during the years when the tournament was just a one class tourney.
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Spring is supposed to have begun Wednesday of this week. The temperatures and snow cover outside sure don't show signs of spring, but you have to believe the calendar! Tuesday of this week was the first scheduled high school track meet - at UW-Platteville. It's a good thing it's an indoor meet! There are outdoor sporting events scheduled for later this week, but I'm pretty sure they will be cancelled. We missed the 80 degree days we had last year!
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It's probably "thank goodness" for missing those 80 degree days. It sure put our crops, including apples and other things in a real bind last year. We had a pretty good amount of rain and snow this "winter", so that puts the water table to pretty close to back on track.
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Sunday was St. Patrick's Day. I had my first taste of the weekend of corned beef & cabbage the day before on my way back from Green Bay for the girls basketball games. Dewey Christoph and I were searching for a sports bar to watch the second half of the Badgers basketball game against Indiana, so he went to his GPS. Anyway, when the GPS said "you have reached your destination" - we ended up in the middle of a residential spot in Kimberly with no sports bar in site! So we went on and there wasn't much time left in the game so we figured we'd listen to the end. When it was over we were close to Waupun, so we just went into town and found a bar that served food. The waitress said they had corned beef & cabbage if we wanted it instead of a burger or something like that. We decided to try it and boy was it ever good - really tender and lean!