When I’m in Boone, I still get asked if I work for the newspaper in Boone. I left that job five years ago next month, right when the pandemic started.

I try to get up to games as much as I can. But being three hours away, it’s not like I can get off work at 5 and drive up the mountain most days of the week. But I try.

Didn’t see anything in person in January because one weekend my mind was against it, then the next when I really wanted to, I got snowed and iced in. Then on some weekends, there was no games in Boone to see.

Feb. 1, there was a doubleheader, starting at 1 p.m. (I remember when doubleheaders started at 2 or 3:30 p.m.). The App State Men’s Basketball team held on for the win over Georgia State.

Then the women unexpectantly lost to Georgia State at home. Oh well, split weekend, not great, not terrible.

Feb. 15, I took the 2-hour journey down to Atlanta to see the Apps face the same opponents at the GSU Convo.

The GSU Convo is a nice, new arena. Parking is right across the street and there’s a parking deck on one side. And you don’t have to go up any stairs to get in.

The App men needed a win to keep up the pace in the top of the Sun Belt. Well…. that didn’t happen. CJ Huntley’s tying three attempt was right in front of me.

Onto the women. Hopefully they could atone from two weeks prior.

Well, Zada Porter’s three from the exact same spot as Huntley’s was just two hours prior bounced off the rim as well, dooming the Apps to a three-point loss.

0 for 2 in Atlanta on the day. Blegh. At least traffic wasn’t the awful hellhole it normally is in Atlanta. For some reason, it was only sort-of terrible. When you’re expecting hell, even a slice of heaven feels like paradise.

BTW, if you’re going to an event walkable from MARTA, do it. They have free parking for less than 24 hours and it’s $5 for roundtrip. I’ve taken it several times to events in the downtown arena, dome and such. Well worth it.

Didn’t take in this time because I saw on live traffic the absence of total hell and it was free to park literally next door. I could throw a baseball from my free parking spot and hit the GSU Convo without bouncing it. Plus the arena is 8/10ths of a mile from the nearest MARTA station and it was cold and rainy that that. But if parking is expensive and it’s nice out, jump on that train.

Anyway, fast forward to Feb. 22 and it was off to Boone again.

The men faced Marshall on Darryl Robinson jersey retirement day and senior day. Again, with possible first place on the line, you expected a strong home performance.

They lost. Rematch this Friday in Huntington. Joy.

Second leg of the doubleheader was the women versus league undefeated JMU. It went badly.

Five straight basketball games in person, five straight losses. Surely, wrestling on Sunday would redeem me.

It looked good for a bit. Then an unexpected pin the other way happened and a couple close decisions went badly and a chance at an undefeated conference regular season died. At least they shared the SoCon title.

That’s six App State losses in a row for me in person. I might just stay home for a bit. That SoCon Wrestling Tournament in Asheville, just an hour away from me, is very tempting.