This Devil's In Heaven

It's still sinking in, but I'm fairly certain that today was one of the most exciting days of my life. I'll start from the beginning.

We got ready, took the elevator down to the lobby, and were greeted by a massive bus. The Duke bus. In front of our hotel. The team had already left for the Rose Garden arena, but I quickly realized that the Duke team and yours truly had been staying at the same hotel for the last couple of days. Pretty cool, right? It gets a lot better.

We hopped on the light rail, crossed the Willamette River, and were at our stop moments later. The Rose Garden -- home of the Portland Trailblazers and a pretty impressive arena. I excitedly picked up our VIP tickets from Will Call and joined the throngs of fans waiting in line for the doors to open. There were TONS of Duke fans there, which was surprising considering Duke was playing the University of Oregon in Portland, Oregon. I know it can't be true, but it almost felt like there were more Duke fans in this game than in the National Championship game in Indianapolis. Probably because the Oregon fans were really pleasant and not at all obnoxious like some of the Butler fans I had to contend with last April. Also, probably because we never gave Oregon fans an opportunity to get excited -- Duke dominated the game and won by 27 points.

Our seats were awesome. We sat about 7 rows behind the Duke bench, along with the parents of the players and other folks that seemed to be in the "inner circle" of the Duke Basketball family. I would've been totally content to have just watched the game from those killer seats, howl with joy at Nolan Smith's half court alley-oop pass to a reverse-dunking Miles Plumlee, and witness the beautiful 30-point game performance put in by Oregon-native Kyle Singler. 

But there was much more. 

At the end of the game, I found Coach K's assistant, Gerry Brown, and introduced myself. As I thanked her for the tickets, she told me to grab my "other three" (I think this could be a great new nickname for my parents and Will) and wait for her, because she was going to take me to see Coach K. I managed to squeak out a "great!" but I was freaking out inside. I summoned my "other three" and told them the ridiculously good news, and then waited for Gerry, trying to think of coherent things to say to Coach K and reminding myself to stay cool. 

A few minutes later, we were all venturing to the bowels of the Rose Garden and among the Duke players and their families. When a security guard questioned us, Gerry told him that we were "personal guests of Coach K" (I had to take a deep breath when I heard that) and no more needed to be said. After waiting around a little longer and watching most of the Blue Devils emerge from the locker room, it was time. Gerry led us down the hall, and soon, we were face to face with Coach K and his wife, Mickey. 

Coach didn't hesitate when he hugged me hello, and mentioned how great I looked. (Of course I looked great! I was meeting one of the great heroes of my life.) 

There was no small talk between the six of us. Coach and Mrs. K wanted to know about my treatment, my next steps, the specifics about my chemo, etc. We talked about the game, and the road trip for the Blue Devils, and I told him about my Dr. Sugarbaker Halloween costume. Coach reminded me about our "date" in April in Houston and I told him that I hadn't forgotten. We took a few pictures together, and Coach sort of took me and Will aside (Mrs. K was talking to my parents) and told me that I really looked great. I told him that a lot of it had to do with getting back to the gym and pumping that iron. 

Then, Will said one of the most brilliant things he's ever said.

"Show him your muscles, sweetie!" So I did. I flexed my arm and said, "Alright, Coach, check out this gun." He grabbed my arm and was visibly impressed. "Wow, that is impressive!" Then he remarked that I should lend some of my muscles to one of our players (who shall remain nameless) who "played like he had no guns tonight." This man is not only a world-famous coach and a wonderful human being, he is hilarious. 

We capped off our visit with another big hug and a promise to keep in touch.

And I spent the rest of the night with a huge smile on my face.