A visit to Mecca
 

This past weekend I was down at IU for the 'Little 500' bike race (from movie, breaking away) and we were staying outside of Bloomington around 20 miles(best we could do, everyplace was booked). On our floor was a girls 8th grade basketball team who said they were in town, Martinsville, for a tournament. It's a very poor, rural area.

So what does a basketball junkie do with a little time to kill on race morning? I go to the local high school where tournament is being played to mainly watch the officials to size up how they look from another state. They were very good, very professional.

I walk in the gym and it's John Wooden's old high school. I felt like I was walking on holy ground. The court bears his name with a huge signature. They have a life like wax statue of Wooden and a plenty of memorabilia. It was a complete surprise to me in the middle of nowhere.

I always get a kick of looking on the wall of fame at high schools for
famous alumni.

I was lucky enough to have breakfast with him back in 95' and it's one of my best, if not the best, sport memories.

What a nice surprise! :)

Basketball? Indiana? Nowhere is the middle of nowhere. Every old town, school, even barn! has some sort of important connection. That's just Indiana.

Serendipity.