A Night Out With the Owls

I have adopted the Kennesaw State Owls as my local sports team. Last night I went to a basketball game, an exhibition game between KSU and Fort Valley State University. It was a pleasant experience. The Owls won easily but that really wasn't the point. I enjoyed being at the game, in a crowd, being close to the action, watching the coaches and players close up. According to the online report of the game, the crowd was 1,000 at the KSU Convocation Center, which is where the Owls play. I didn't think there were that many people there, I would have guessed more like 400 tops but I suppose the facility they play in is deceptive. Anyway, I enjoyed being able to watch the game closely. I plan to attend some more games there during the season. KSU is a modern campus and Georgia's third largest university. It's only about a 30-minute trip from my house so it's easy to get to. KSU's coach resembles William Shatner with a scarface. FVSU's coach was a tall thin man, who I discovered later, played at Kansas before playing in the NBA. He was very interesting to watch: very intense and very involved in the game. One of my favorite memories is of him pleading his case with one of the referees: the referee has his back to the coach and the coach is arguing, gesturing etc. as if they are face to face. But he can't touch the ref and turn him around. So he just argues on as if they are having a conversation. It would have made a great photo. The other memory is how the KSU cheerleaders pronounce the mascot: Not owl, a one-syllable word, but ow-well, two syllables. Only in the South.