Here are some of my state dance experiences.

Friday, I was standing in line at one of the concession stands at Target Center during a break at state dance. I hadn’t eaten yet that day and I was hungry. There was a long line and so I had time to contemplate what to order. Should I have the $16 cheeseburger with the $10 soda or the $19 chicken strip basket with the $10 soda? I was getting closer to the front of the line when I hear someone yelling my name. I turned around and it was Carly Wager and Aaliyah Schommer, the coaches for the LQPV/DB Shadows coming to do a radio interview with me. I had told them to come to section 130 anytime to get on the radio with me.

I was so close to ordering my food. I thought, their time is way more important than me feeding my face, so I got out of line. When they saw me starting to step out of line I think they felt bad and they waved at me to stay in line. Bless their hearts. We made our way to section 130 and did our radio interview. They both are so kind and humble. The love they have for dance and their dancers is amazing. After our interview I made my way back to the concession stand and there was no line and I ordered right away. If you are wondering I ordered the chicken strip basket with the $10 soda that was filled with mostly ice!

I have said this before, but state dance is my favorite sporting event to cover. It is very well run by the Minnesota High School League. Only two radio stations cover state dance. My broadcasting partners Dee Dee Schommer and Ken Franzky are fabulous to work with. They both were Shadow parents and have been involved with the Shadows for many years. The knowledge of dance they have is incredible. It’s such a blessing to me and KLQP to have them on the air with me.

Our goal is to interview a judge at state dance. That has been a mission Ken has been on for a couple of years and we haven’t been able to pull it off yet. This year Ken gave it his best shot at trying to get a judge to come on the air with us. He is persistent and doesn’t take no for an answer very well. The eight judges are seated in a suite just behind us at Target Center. Friday, Ken walked up to the suite and tried to persuade one of them to come on the air with us. It didn’t work. About a half hour later, the superior judge came to our radio booth and gave us reasons why we weren’t able to get an interview with the judges during the state tournament. That was Friday. Saturday, Ken attempted again to get at least one of them to come talk to us. We thought it would be great to get the judges perspective on judging dance. Again they declined. Later in the day Ken walked over to them and gave them his business card and told them to give him a call later that week and he could hook them up with me to do a interview. Ken is amazing and tenacious! A+ for effort by Ken.

Another fun experience is meeting the team and family members, students and fans in the concourse area after the awards ceremony. We are all crowded together and celebrating bringing home some hardware. The Shadows and alumni doing chants together is fun to see. There are lots of emotions, hugs, kisses and pictures being taken. It’s just a great moment to soak in and I enjoyed interviewing the girls.

Saturday evening as I was walking back to my car I was exhausted. I was tired. I had a three hour drive a head of me. Then it happened! I was walking in the skyway heading to ramp A. when I saw a mom and daughter selling girl scout cookies!! They had a table set up full of girl scout cookies in the skyway. I have never seen anyone selling anything before in the skyway. Was this even legal for them to be here? They seemed out of place, but yet there they were, like God sent them to me. I couldn’t pass by because the temptation was to great! I chatted with them and bought a number of boxes. All of a sudden I wasn’t tired anymore. What a way to end state dance with some girl scout cookies! I might of had a few cookies on the way home. Another great state dance tournament and lots of memories made. Congrats to the Shadows on a great season.