Bison in the Big Dance!

Our beloved North Dakota State University Bison men's basketball team is playing in the NCAA Division I big dance today and I'm having flashbacks.

The Bison are in their very first year of eligibility for the Division I tournament and they won the Summit League championship to qualify. So they drew the defending national champion Kansas in the first round - who cares? These guys are on such a roll - and our entire state is so excited - that they'll probably roll all over the Jayhawks on sheer adrenalin alone!

I'm remembering my days as a basketball player. When my high school team made it to the state tournament my senior year, I think the entire town shut down. The boys' team from Gwinner, a little town 15 miles from my hometown of Lisbon, North Dakota, made it to the state tournament this year and they won yesterday. I'm sure there's no one left to run the post office there (although the game will be on TV in case someone needed to keep the lights on while everyone else is at the game).

My freshman year at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota my basketball team won the Division III national championship, so I have a little bit of an idea of what the Bison are going through today (on a much smaller scale, to be sure). It's such an amazing rush to know that so many people are supporting you - win or lose.

I understand why they call it March Madness. We are crazy here in Fargo today! Even the University of North Dakota fans are Bison fans today! We appreciate the support!!