A Fan’s Journey of Love, Heartbreak and Trusting the Process During One Unforgettable Season.

The ball was tipped. But I wasn’t in the stadium. Not yet.

The Iowa State women’s basketball team had just tipped off against Georgia in the NCAA tournament round of 32, a home game at Hilton Coliseum. All season, I had told myself that if Iowa State made it to this point, and earned a high enough seed to have a home game, I would be there. And I was, sort of.

At the same time, the Iowa State men’s basketball team was playing the final minutes of its own round of 32 game against Wisconsin. Just a few months ago, this had seemed impossible to imagine, but there they were just minutes away from the Sweet 16. My friend Chris and I stood in the Hilton Coliseum parking lot watching on an iPad. As the women’s game tipped off, I pulled it up on my phone so we could watch both.

Saturday, I had something more important to do than watch a football game.

We celebrated the life of my Great Uncle Derrill, one of the kindest, nicest people I have ever met in my life.

It was the end of the third quarter at Camping World Stadium in Orlando when we heard the first notes.

At halftime, the stadium announcer had encouraged fans to text their team’s nickname to a 5-digit phone number. Whichever team had more texts would get to hear their team’s song between the third and fourth quarter. For Iowa State, it would be Redfoo’s “Juicy Wiggle.’ For Clemson, it would be Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.” The winner was a mystery, until those first few notes came over the loudspeakers.

It was unmistakably the Juicy Wiggle. The 15,000 – 20,000 Iowa State fans in attendance started dancing and clapping, many of them waving their cell phone lights. Despite the fact the Cyclones were losing 20-6, we still danced, more than 1,300 miles away from Ames.