March 19, 1976
Went to school at 6:30 to get on the busses for Champaign.
Had a lot of fun.
Mary, Debbie, Debbie, and Gail were on my bus.
We won our first round by 30 points against Thornridge.
82-52
March 20, 1976
Went to Champaign again.
We won our second game against Decatur.
Then at night we played for 1st & 2nd.
We lost 45-44.
Morgan Park was so lucky for that last point.
Everyone was crying
even half the team.
Author's note:
Oh, boy. Practically thirty years ago and I still remember the screams. I also seem to remember that Jaybird made an impulsive and really bad pass in the final seconds and Morgan Park had a nano second to deliver on it. Some said it was a bad coaching moment - there should have been a time-out. Some blamed the officiating. Nobody wanted to blame Jaybird. Those were the days that people also looked the other way. Word had it that the team drank themselves silly. In one account Jaybird was in a hotel room with his cheerleader girlfriend while another team member sat outside the door, openly drinking and wallowing. (That one was valedictorian that spring and I had a huge crush on him over the next few years.)
And on the cheerleader note - all of ours were very talented and acrobatic and very white. Morgan Park's were T.O.U.G.H! Urban and hip hop and hot. It was the first time we suburban kids saw cheerleaders "bring it". Duly impressed. One more sign that there was life beyond the cornfields.
Posted by nora murphy at March 19, 2005 09:11 AM | TrackBack