"We cannot control the wind, but we can direct the sail" -author unknown

A year ago, at 90 years old, Norma Jean Bauerschmidt was diagnosed with uterine cancer and this was after having just lost her husband two days prior.  She was faced with a major decision to spend her last days fighting the cancer or live them to the fullest.  She chose the latter and loaded up into a RV with her son and daughter-in-law and hit the road on a cross country road trip, cataloging her adventures on Facebook, where her page currently has 455,723 likes. 

In a little over a year, she rode 13,000 miles, visited 32 states and slept in 75 different locations. She was a World War II Navy Vet and was an honored guest on an aircraft carrier, saw the Grand Canyon, played the ukulele, the list goes on and on. This past week, while getting ready to go whale watching in the San Juan Islands, Norma finally succumbed to the disease and passed on, surrounded by her family and her dog.

In one year, this 90 year old saw more of this country than most of us will in our entire lives and lived each day to its fullest. Sadly, too many of these stories begin in the final chapters. Why not make these choices earlier on? Choose to live life to the fullest now! Her daughter in law said in lieu of flowers or donations, she suggested people pay tribute to Norma Jean by "infusing some joy in the world. Pay it forward in your own community. Pay it forward in your own family. Take your grandmother out for lunch. Heck, take her out for a beer!" Cheers to that for sure!  Got to go now, I'm going to call my Dad. It has to beer thirty somewhere...

In the same way that football means more in Alabama or soccer means more in Europe, basketball just means more in Kentucky. Like, a lot more.

Newborns are named after UK basketball players, childhoods are defined by Championship wins (and losses), families are divided if a loved one strays to the dark side and becomes a Louisville fan, and every September, fans use their hard-earned vacation time to camp out in tents for a week. For a free ticket. To a practice. (Enter Allen Iverson rant here: "We talkin' 'bout practice?!)

The first official practice of the 2016 season, known nationwide as Midnight Madness and known in Kentucky as Big Blue Madness, is now just 11 days away. This is the first chance fans will have to see their #2 ranked Wildcats on the court, a spectacle that will fill every one of Rupp Arena's 23,500 seats. For a practice.

Some facts about the history of Tent City and the Big Blue Madness campout:

-The Tent City record was 760 tents in 2014 before UK officials were forced to restrict camping areas. This year's limited space only allowed 375 tents.

-Fans once camped for 17 days, before UK officials had to limit ticket camping days.

-Since new rules limit camping to 3 days prior, fans now line up days in advance across the street from the designated camping area. This results in a sprint across Avenue Of Champions to claim spots at 5:00am when ticket camping can officially start.

-This year's campout included a Tent City wedding on Friday for the couple in tent #1. 

-Every year there's a live television special, 'Tent City Live', where John Calipari and the team make their annual appearance to hand out pizza and play corn hole with campers.

For someone whose first love was basketball since the age of four, these are my people. Like them, I cried when we won the National Championship in 2012, I couldn't eat for 2 days when our perfect 38-0 season was ruined by Wisconsin in the 2014 Final Four and I get goosebumps when the P.A. Announcer opens every game at Rupp with "Welcome to Rupp Arena, home of the greatest tradition in the history of college basketball!"

To outsiders, we're crazy and obsessed - we get it. But all you need is a few days in the Bluegrass to see that Kentucky Basketball is more than just a sport - it's a religion, a way of life, an identity and a common bond. The most wonderful time of the year is upon us, and I can't wait to be back with my people in My Old Kentucky Home.

Happy Friday!

2016 has been a great year for SlideBelts. It is exciting to see our team grow and to see so many new faces around the office every day. SlideBelts' real strength is the team of people who make it happen. We have two new Crusaders starting today! Please, welcome Bryan and Josh to the team. With the new additions, that brings our headcount to 25. This time last year our headcount was at 13.