Basketball Joe, I got a basketball Joe

I woke up this morning with a splitting headache. I actually wish that I could rip my eyeballs out of my head. So far, nothing is helping...two Advil, peppermint oil on my temples...still throbbing. Do you ever have days that you wish were over before they even start? That's today. I feel exhausted, overwhelmed, hormonal, emotional, stressed, anxious and defeated all at the same time.
The one thing that's going to get me through today is what I have to look forward to tonight. It has been a LONG time since I have had the pleasure of being entertained by an NBA basketball game. Tonight, the Seattle Sonics will take on the Phoenix Suns at GM Place for some pre-season action, and Kristina and I will be centre court getting our cheer on.
My dad and I were season's ticket holders and super fans from 1995-2001 when the Grizzlies were in Vancouver. It broke my heart when they departed for Memphis. I have loved the sport since I was big enough to dribble a ball. I've always said that if one thing came naturally to me in life, it's the ability to shoot a basketball. I have been enthralled by the sport and its players longer than I can remember. The fact that I had sprouted up to 5'9" by grade five didn't hurt my game either. I can still tell you more than you'd ever need to know about Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. My love for the game continued as I played competitively through elementary school, and high school. These days, I can still kick some ass (even in heels and a dress) against the boys in my office on our lunch breaks. As a kid, when most little girls were playing with dolls and wearing dresses, I was watching Michael Jordan's Come Fly With Me, shooting hoops in the driveway outside my house and wearing Nike hi-tops. When we were ten years old, my friend Courtenay's dad coached the senior girls basketball team (he was later our coach as well). The two of us would go to just about every game and sit behind the bench. We'd watch the girls on the court like hawks; committing their every move to memory to be drawn upon later. Hours were spent in the gym, perfecting our skills and working on our game. I also spent a lot of time collecting Skybox cards, trading them with Cour and watching games on television with my dad, not to mention obsessing over March Madness. I am grinning ear to ear just thinking about the cool leather spinning over my finger tips on its way into the net. Swish.
So, of course I am beyond pumped that I get to see Steve Nash and Raja Bell in the flesh, and watch some live, professional action right here in Vancouver tonight.