Dear Diary: One Hour and Counting

WICHITA, Kan. — It’s here. The time has finally arrived.

Five years ago I sat in the bowling center in Tulsa and told you I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I thought we’d win the national championship.

I said I may be crazy, but I thought we’d do it.

I feel the same way today.

Who knows what’s going to happen. Wichita State is a machine and certainly has a home-lane advantage. They’ve been in the championship match four of the last five years. They’ve lost once. In 2004. In Tulsa. To Pikeville College.

Someone asked me today if this was the home house of Wichita State, if they practiced here and what-not. I said I wasn’t sure, but think about it: If you knew the national championship tournament was going to be in a bowling center in your hometown, do you think you may stop by a few times and throw a few games?

Of course you would.

Wichita State knows this house. It is, for all intents and purposes, their house.

We’re the guests.

And, by the way, their house is full. There are so many people here they have overflow seating in the bar with closed-circuit TV airing on one of the big screens. And there are many people in there.

The men’s final is beginning as I type. Guess who’s in it? Yep. Wichita State. They’re facing UNLV. So if you weren’t terribly inclined to come see the women’s team, the chance to see both would probably insure your presence today.

But Pikeville College will have a few people in its corner too. For one thing, we travel well. Several parents are here, and the guys' team is here en masse as well.

And then there’s this: Pikeville is a popular team in college bowling, well-liked by players and coaches alike. A tradition here is for all the teams to stay and come out to see the finals, which are taped for future airing on CBS College Sports. The kids will borrow T-shirts from the teams playing and fill the TV stage to cheer on their friends.

On the bus coming over here, I noticed a stack of Pikeville College shirts.

Combine our — and I’m lumping myself into “our” simply because I’m along for the ride — popularity with the fact that we’re facing Wichita State – who is sort of unpopular simply because of the immensity of its decades of success on this stage – and I think there’ll be a lot of people cheering for Pikeville College.

It doesn’t hurt that two of the other schools in the 16-team women’s field are from Kentucky. Morehead State, another longtime power in college bowling, lost to Wichita 4-0 this morning or it would be an all Bluegrass finals.

And Bellarmine University from Louisville is enjoying its first trip to the national tournament.

Suffice it to say, a lot of people will be cheering for Pikeville College this afternoon here at The Rock.

Now, if you go to the Web site www.bowl.com, there’s a link that says “LIVE FRAME-BY-FRAME SCORING …” on the front page, below the heading about Saginaw Valley State’s attempt at a threepeat in the men's division, which was thwarted this morning when Wichita State beat them in consecutive matches.

There, thanks to the hard work of dozens of people here from the USBC, you can follow us live as we attempt to win the national championship.

And then, check back here for reaction shortly after the trophies are handed out.

In Ron Damron’s office on the bottom floor of the Administration Building is a big trophy. It’s a big bowl-looking thing called the “Helmer Cup,” named after longtime bowling coach Kerm Helmer of Erie Community College who died not long after Ron started our program at Pikeville College.

It’s the championship trophy given at this tournament. It’s there, from the 2004 team, which seven bold, brave young ladies won for us in Tulsa.

I told Ron back in the winter it looked a little lonely there, all alone. It needed a companion piece.

Today, we have a chance to bring it home a mate.

In about an hour, we’ll know how we did.

Wish us luck.