Our Own Form of March Madness!

You have come a long way, baby!

Charlie has just made this debute at WSU as a column writer! Good timing, Char... it has been quite bleak without our usual infusion of sports this year! We miss our kids in the heat of competition so this can be our new form of MARCH MADNESS. You are still in the thick of it.... our own writer....
Char's column reminds me of all the fun our family had over the years following our kids sports teams. You can read it below or go to the website and read it for yourself. http://www.dailyevergreen.com/blogs/sports/ Hope you will follow him at this blogsite.... he plans to write something weekly and he even gets paid for his work. Your dream is taking shape!!!!

Life and Sports in Chugwater, WY by Charlie W.

"I grew up on a cattle ranch in Chugwater, Wyoming. One of those small towns where elevation (5,295 feet) exceeds population (244). I had roughly ten kids in my class from Kindergarten to ninth grade. It’s one of those small towns where the one and only gas station is THE thriving business. There are no fast food restaurants, shopping malls, stoplights, movie theaters, or indoor plumbing… Okay I lied about the plumbing part, but the rest is true, and hopefully you get an idea about the type of town I’m talking about.
Reading this you probably picture a guy with a cutoff t-shirt that reads “git-r-done” and a world class, white trash mullet. Although I do know people like that, I’d like to think I defy most of the stereotypes of agricultural small-town kids. For instance, you could count on a single hand the number of times I’ve worn cowboy boots and I’ve never actually been hunting.
There is always a partial truth to some stereotypes however. Like many small towns high school sports were the heartbeat of the community, and since there are only about twenty boys in the high school there aren’t enough players for a football team. The track and baseball facilities are about as adequate as Nicole Ricci’s diet. So that leaves basketball, man do the people of Chugwater love basketball. In winter, when the wind was blowing 40 mph and ranchers are struggling through the snow to feed their cattle seven days a week, at least there was basketball.
It was in that small, isolated village where I fell in love with sports. The emotion, the brotherhood, the true spirit of competition, it is sports in its purest form. I became the manager of the boys basketball team for six years, watching my two older brothers play in front of me. For six years I dreamed about the day I would finally get to play with my middle brother, who was a senior when I was a freshmen. That day came and went. We placed third at state. Winning are last game in a triple overtime thriller, where my brother made two three-pointers in the last 4.9 seconds to force the third overtime. We had eight players on are team. Three of them fouled out. The last six minutes of the game we played with no subs.
I’ve watched a baseball game at Wrigley Field, seen Brett Favre play against the Vikings, seen Barry Bonds chase the home-run record, seen the Rockies beat the Phillies in the playoffs during their historic winning streak. I’ve seen some amazing things in national sports. But I’ve also seen a Chugwater basketball player score 51 points in a state championship to bring our town its first title in 38 years. I’ve seen our girls basketball team win a game to go to state playing with three players the last five minutes of the game. I’ve seen my oldest brother, my hero, score fourteen points and grab five rebounds, on one leg in a losing effort as he sprained his ankle seventeen seconds into the regional championship game. Three days later they lost a challenge game to go to state and his career ended. All three of us brothers cried in that locker room together. I’ve seen my own shot go in to win a game. I’ve seen true teammates, true rivalry, true heartbreak, and true joy. It may not be the NBA, or College sports, or even Washington state 4A basketball. But those memories are right up their with Wrigley, Brett, Barry, and the Rockies. I know there’s more to the world than Chugwater, Wyoming. That’s a big reason I came 1,000 miles to WSU. But there aren’t many places in the world where a 5’ 4,’’ 100 lbs, late-blooming freshman can feel power. But in those small town gyms with my brother and my friends, I was seven feet tall. I was a warrior. As I go through my first year at college, so far from everything I’ve ever known, there are many things from my home that I’ve left behind. But the roots for my love of sports will never go dry, and I owe that to Chugwater Wyoming. Population 244. "

You made your Mom cry......
We might not want to go back exactly but does this make you nostaglic????

Some great memories in the life of our family.... 2005- CHS 3rd at State! What exciting last moments of the game with Mick's 2- 3 pointers at the end! thanks for keeping it alive, Charlie!