Gramma Kay Sez It Best

Kay Kiebert I was down on my knees!!

 No stroke for me and a win for the Zags!!! Prayers answered! 😃😃😃

In Ireland, they say that two G's reign supreme: 

GOD and GUINNESS.

For some, it's not necessarily in that order. 

In the Inland Northwest and probably some parts of the world, wherever fans live, two G's also reign supreme:

GOD and GONZAGA.

Again, for some,  maybe not always in that order. 

GOD had to be a factor last night, though, when GONZAGA took on San Francisco in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals. 

As is often customary, it looked great for our ZAGS (number 2 in NCAA men's polling, number 1 in West Coast Conference for the season and number 1 plus in the minds of all their fans). 

With the usual ZAG finesse, it appeared for a while that the Bulldogs were cruising toward easy victory. 

Then, the Dons came back and back and back and back again---even surpassing the ZAGS on the scoreboard in the final minutes of the game----setting off Dick Vitale like the crazy man he appears to be for many television viewers.  

For the record, I actually like Dick Vitale, even in all his craziness. He seems good-hearted and super enthusiastic about the game of basketball and all who coach it and all who play it.  

That is fine until your team falls behind and then he explodes into his crazed state of suggesting that your team, the No. 2 team in the nation could lose. 

"Time to call your friends!" he screams as San Francisco pulls ahead.

Meanwhile, from my couch:  SHUT UP, Dick!

Twice he did that last night as the score kept changing.

Twice I yelled at him to shut up.

Sensitive little Foster thought I was talking about Donald Trump. 

My yells came in between my silent prayers that maybe one good thing could happen in this day of all days when the stock market crashed and the Lady ZAGS went down and the Eagles from EWU went down and a bunch of other worries brought clouds in the midst of sunshine. 

Please, God, I thought, make this day end on a high note. 

Let the ZAGS win this one for all the people who need a ray of personal sunshine. 

I am sure this morning, however, that God was not listening to me nearly as much as He did to Kay who was down on her knees at her home in Hope praying to God and trying to avoid a stroke. 

Meanwhile, where the ZAGS were playing in Las Vegas, at least one person I know was asking for the blood pressure pills while his spouse said, "I'll take Tums, please." 

In the end, God listened and saw to it that HIS ZAGS won. 

It was a good thing in these times of uncertainty and fear for what the future brings.  

It was also just the antidote to take care of a chronic disease that attacks and hangs around for several months of every year. 

Many people have had it for decades.  Some call it ZAGmania.  Some have it worse than others, but all will happily talk publicly about their own ZAGmania symptoms. 

In my case, it's the wallpapering via ZAGS season posters in my house or the autographs of ZAGS players and coaches hidden away in my purse, which go from old purses to new purses and it's the wall right behind where I type:  ZAGS tickets from various years, provided by ZAGS angels. 

The symptoms for ZAGmania actually vary as much as the fans, but with all, once the disease catches on, it never ever goes away. 

Never mind doing any research, CDC, because this is a disease with no cure, and that is just fine with every single person who has ever contracted it. 

That doesn't mean, however, that these people don't occasionally suffer  life-threatening symptoms, like Kay did last night. 

Blood pressure does rise.  

Hearts either stop or go aflutter. 

Breath sometimes goes into a full stop, remaining there for dangerously long durations. 

Sometimes people align ZAGS games with eating a lot, maybe taking off for the kitchen to get another cookie when the score's not looking so good. 

In really obsessive cases, 20 fingernails and hang nails get a full work out from persistent teeth. 

Thank God, the games end when they do cuz those toenails are hard to reach!

Probably the worst part of the disease is the fear of missing a ZAGS game.  

Fans will do anything to find a radio or pay for a channel they don't have or go to someone's house, anybody's house where the ZAGS are playing. 

I'm guessing that even violence could occur should the networks suffer a blackout in the middle of a ZAGS game. 

So far so good on that count, for most of us anyway. 

Yup, God and Gonzaga reign high in the hearts of fans, so much so some even take Gonzaga to the grave, as my mother did with her ZAGS hat. 

Granted, it's a stubborn but at most times pleasant disease, and to have ZAGmania in these times and to have God smile upon our ZAGS on an otherwise dark day-----that's the best elixir possible.

Thank you, God.  Thank you, ZAGS!

Tonight:  more symptoms likely as the ZAGS take on St. Mary's for the West Coach Conference championship. 

ESPN -- 6 p.m. PDT  

AND, regardless of outcome, this year's version of ZAGmania doesn't end there cuz soon the Mania will blend with the Madness and that oughta really test both health, Kay's knees and GOD above. 

Ir, ZAGS, RUAIG Gaels!