KC and Me

I stayed at a hotel in Madison for $40 a night during a weekend in March of 2011.

Boy, did I ever pay for it.

I got to listen to a lovely argument with a couple on the brink of divorce through the paper-thin walls the first night.

Their squabble ended up being like music to my ears compared to the cops breaking down the door across the hall to make an arrest on the next.

Needless to say, I didn’t sleep one wink.

But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat just for the opportunity to watch my sisters play in back-to-back-to-back state championship games.

When the three girls basketball teams from Kewaunee County all made it to the WIAA state tournament together in 2011 it kept me from throwing in the towel.

Algoma, Kewaunee and Luxemburg-Casco gave me the opportunity to show I had what it takes to produce what some would call the “good stuff.”

That’s why I’ve always owed a debt of gratitude to the kids from KC.

The Luxemburg-Casco volleyball team’s trip to the Resch Center will be the 25th time a KC team is competing at a WIAA state tournament since I started covering the county in 2008.

It has been my pleasure to do so.

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Let me tell you something about the kids from KC.

They’re stubborn and tough as nails. They’re not afraid to get their hands dirty or lend a helping hand. They may not always get along, but there is a level of respect you’ll see across their small towns because, deep down, everyone is cut from the same cloth.

I’ve always been damn proud to have that fabric stitched in me as a kid from KC.

I always went to bat for my sisters and brothers from KC.

It’s why in 2012 I spent about two hours in the bowels of the Kohl Center pleading on the phone with editors to make sure an article would make the paper.

Jeff Saturday’s signing with the Packers that day was going to bump the story of Kewaunee’s Alex Kohnle checking in at state girls basketball after she had sustained torn ACLs in three consecutive seasons. Thank you Dale and Julie for putting up with me and finding a way to get that in there.

In 2013, I didn’t mind having my voice recorder being doused in water after Algoma softball coach Amber Schubert received a shower from her players after winning a state title. Thanks Taylor Schmidt, I needed a new voice recorder anyway.

I can recall the Charley horses I got after squeezing onto the edge of the mats to watch the Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team add state title No. 11 to its collection in 2013.

The UW Field House, a.k.a. The Barn, is always a cool atmosphere for team state wrestling. But nothing topped seeing the Resch Center filled on one end with the folks from Algoma and Kewaunee in 2013 to watch the War on the Shore rivals win state titles in back-to-back games.

I cut things pretty close in timing out some trips through the years, like going from Sheboygan to Waupaca in one afternoon during March of 2014 to catch the Algoma girls basketball team punch its ticket back to state.

There was also the time I went to the state cross-country meet in Wisconsin Rapids and finished in time to make it to Waupaca to catch the Luxemburg-Casco volleyball team come up just short of advancing to state in 2014.

I managed to get locked in Camp Randall Stadium in 2009 after one of Kewaunee’s state championship football games. There was the instance in 2013 where my car almost died in the middle of the street in Brookfield on the way to Kewaunee’s state semifinal football game.

Honestly, I don’t know how much I have left in the tank at this point.

All I know is I’ve been running on adrenaline and passion for close to 10 years of sharing stories.

One of the biggest compliments I’ve received is when I hear, “You know it must be a big game when AP is here.”

It’s a legacy I’ve tried to carry on along the lakeshore from Lee Lawrenz, who gave me a chance to get my foot in the door.

I remember hearing the joy in his voice in 2011 when he described looking at the page in the Sunday paper after Algoma, Kewaunee and Luxemburg-Casco had all won their sectional finals to advance to state for girls basketball.

I can recall the light in his eyes as he sat at press row at the Kohl Center to cover each team. Actually, it was more like to cheer for each team.

He congratulated and thanked all three squads as they came off the court. After all, those were his kids from KC.

The series of stories I wrote that sleepless weekend remains the best work I feel I’ve ever done.

But I really didn’t do anything. The heavy lifting was done by the kids from KC.

Their efforts always got me to where I wanted to go.

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pay them back for that.

All I can do is say thank you for having me along for the ride.