A Trip to Tucson

Jason and I get the question ALL THE TIME..."why do you cheer for Arizona Basketball?" Did we go there? No. Are we from AZ? No. So real quick, the story behind it is this...Jason started cheering for the Wildcats in 1995. He's always been a big college basketball fan and as he got to know the '95 team and the legendary coach Lute Olson, he grew to love the team, follow them and eventually become a super fan.

When Jason and I started dating, Arizona always played on Thursdays and Saturdays during the season so if I wanted to see my new boyfriend on those days I pretty much had to be at his house watching basketball which I really, truly was OK with because I love college basketball. BUT, I cheered for the Gophers and the Jayhawks so didn't really care too much about Arizona. As I watched more games and got to know the players {primarily Jerryd Bayless} I liked the team more and more. Then, for Valentine's Day in 2009, I surprised Jason by planning a trip to Arizona to see the boys play. 

After seeing a game at McKale Center, I was hooked. 

And the rest is history.

When planning our babymoon trip to Arizona, we knew we wanted to go at a time when The Wildcats played at home so we could see a game and it worked out that they were playing Arizona State - their rivals! We left Scottsdale for Tucson in the morning on Wednesday {the 17th} and went straight to the bookstore upon arrival. 

  

After spending a small fortune on new Arizona gear, we grabbed some lunch on campus and walked through the mall which lead me to miss college in a big way and also regret not going to a school that has weather like U of A does. 

  

After a couple hours on campus, we headed to our hotel so that the toddler and the preggo could nap and gear up for the game. Once we were all rested, we made our way back to campus to eat on University at a place that came highly recommended called Frog & Firkin. It did not disappoint! The food and atmosphere were great and the weather was perfect.

  

A highlight was definitely icing my hubby! It's fun to ice people when you know they can't ice you back!

  

  

About an hour before game time we made our way to McKale Center! I truly can't say enough about the arena and the atmosphere, definitely unlike any college basketball game I've been to anywhere else. We watched the boys warm up, said hello to one of the refs that we actually know through my dad and then made our way to our seats. 

The Cats were favored by 12 but Jason and I had a feeling this game would be a pounding - and it was! We ended up beating those dang Sun Devils by 38 {99-61!} Kenley was SO into the game, it was adorable! She was cheering, on the hunt for the mascot Wilbur who she calls "Willburt" and entertaining everyone around her. It's safe to say she is a Wildcat fan for life after this. 

  

 After the game, we hung around in hopes of saying hi to one of the assistant coaches that we've gotten to know over the years at my dad's summer tournaments. In doing so, we were able to meet a couple of our favorite players - Kaleb Tarczewski and Ryan Anderson both of whom were so sweet to Kenley! 

  

 Overall, it was another amazing time in Tucson! I am so glad it worked out for us to make a game and to introduce Kenley {and my mom} to the awesome-ness that is McKale Center and the Zona Zoo! I can't wait until we can all go back again...and bring our baby boy!