Trash Talk is Trashy

I blogged on Wednesday, March 7 the following: I love filling out a "dream bracket" on which all the underdogs that I like advance and my Cardinals manage to meet & beat UK along the way to their Championship. True to my word, here's this year's bracket in all its glory:

Most people laughed at me when they heard who I had picked for my Final Four. Well guess what? 2012 has turned my dream into a reality. 


Who's laughing now? 


Me. The answer is me. I'm the one laughing, as I sing along to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus on repeat. By the way, I've changed the lyrics to "It's a party in the Ville today". Don't hate.


Not only are my Louisville Cardinals meeting the Kentucky Wildcats, they are meeting in the Final Four. It doesn't get bigger than this for either group of fans. If you're not familiar with the rivalry (or if you just want to get more familiar), here's a great breakdown:Basketball Armageddon


Seconds after it was confirmed that UofL would indeed play UK on college basketball's biggest stage, a Facebook friend had already posted the words: "bring on the trash talk." 
With a roll of my eyes and a heavy sigh, I immediately closed my laptop.


Why? Because I simply cannot stand trash talk. Maybe it's my fear of confrontation. Maybe it's because I make my living teaching children to use kind words. Maybe because I think it's a waste of time. Yeah, that's the one-waste of time.


You like your team, I like mine. The end. 


I for one am proud of the fact that the fine state of Kentucky has not one, but two teams in this year's Final Four. I respect the Wildcats, but I love the Cardinals. It's been that way since birth and it's not going to change. And yes, this Friday I will be wearing this nerdy/fun piece of attire to work:

But that does not mean that I want to get into a war of words with any of my UK fan-coworkers. 


On a side note, I wore this shirt to a store recently and the clerk got rowdy when I walked up to the counter saying, "Aw no! Boo! That shirt is all wrong!" 
I said, "I take it you're a UK fan." 
To which she responded, "You're joking, right?" 
As I wiped the sweat from my forehead that began to seep out of my pores upon her verbal assault, the clerk's coworker informed her that the shirt read "Louisville is greater than Kentucky". 
"Oh, my bad. I thought it was the other way around," apologized the clerk. "Go Cards!"
As I left the store, these were the thoughts swirling around my mind: Is it more sad that this woman couldn't read my shirt, or that she's a Cards fan who couldn't read my shirt? What if I had been a UK fan? How would I have responded then? Is it hot in here? 
The fact that I went into my classroom the next day and reviewed 'greater than/less than' is irrelevant to this blog post, but rest assured my 3rd graders know how to properly read my shirt.


Any who...Although on game day I may be thinking negative things about the other team, and occasionally saying them aloud in the privacy of my own home, I will never write them on Facebook or say them to your face. 'Cause at the end of the day, they are not going to make my team play any better. 


So let's just agree to disagree and enjoy this sweet March Madness miracle. Keep it classy in the Bluegrass, friends. May the best team win. 
GO CARDS!