Love and Basketball

I thought I might start at the beginning and tell our "how we met" story, so I will have it written down somewhere.  On January 14th my friends Lindsey, Erin and I were having a fun girls' weekend and we decided to go to the Baylor Men's Basketball game.  That day, the men were playing OSU and at halftime, the girls and I decided we needed a little snack.  I was in a popcorn kinda mood and Erin and Lindsey wanted something different, so we each chose our separate lines for our favorite fan food.  Of course, as frequently occurs in many areas of my life, especially grocery store checkouts, I chose the longest line.  Now the line did not appear to the eye to be longest, but indeed it did prove to take the longest time to reach the front, order, and receive my precious popcorn and Diet Dr. Pepper.  As I scooped up my snacks and turned around I. Saw. Him.  Yes, this amazing guy was standing there talking to my friend Erin and I was instantly intrigued.  I walked over to them and she introduced me to him.  I found out that he had been in her life group at church and he was telling us about some of the remodeling he had been doing on his 1920s house.  I quickly scanned the left hand for any tell-tale jewelry and quietly stifled my sigh of relief when I noticed that it was empty of any type of adornment.  He made a funny reference about something earlier in the game, which apparently I found hilarious because I laughed.  Then, the game was about to get going and he took his long sought after Chick Fil A milkshake in hand and  returned to his seat.  At that moment I told my friends, "I like him.  I want to go out with him."

These words have probably never escaped my lips before, but there was something about this man that had me completely intrigued.  I wanted to get to know him.

After the game was over, I pestered Erin again about this mystery man.  She looked in her phone and found she still had his number from their life group days, so she texted him my number.  Then, as great fortune would have it, he called back.  After the game my friends and I had headed to one of our favorite shops to peruse before we were heading back to the Ferrell Center for the football team's congratulatory pep rally and also our opportunity to have our picture taken with the Heisman Trophy.

I answered my phone -- it was HIM!!  I couldn't believe it!  And then he asked me if I wanted to get together!!!  That night!  For coffee!!! :)  Then, I remembered my plans with my friends and I wondered if we could pick a different time, but as I am mentioning this to the boy, I see my friends waving their arms and saying, "Carroll, GO!".  So quickly my hemming and hawing turned into, "Coffee sounds great!"  We made plans to meet later that night.

My friends then went with me back to my apartment and helped me choose the perfect coffee date outfit.  After that, we headed to the Ferrell Center for the pep rally, which was incredible!

Here is Coach Art Briles addressing the crowd with the Alamo Bowl and Heisman trophies standing side by side.

What a team!

After the pep rally, the girls and I got in line for our trophy photo op only to realize that this line was going to take a LONG time.  I ended leaving before having my photo taken to meet my date. :) I arrived at the appointed Starbucks at exactly the same time he did.  He opened the door, we ordered our beverage of choice, and took a seat.  We proceeded to have the most amazing conversation about a wide variety of topics we were both interested in.  I knew that this was special.  We talked until the Starbucks closed and made plans to get together the next Friday for dinner.  I remember getting into my car and having a deep calm assurance that this was different.  This guy was special.  This connection could have possibilities...