My love for basketball began when my dad and I would go to games in Cameron Indoor Stadium (yes you read that correctly, let's not talk about it). Most of the time my grandfather, Pizza Pop, would give us the tickets. He used to bring us pizza every time he would visit us when my sisters and I were younger. Naturally, as the oldest granddaughter, I gave him the name "Pizza Pop." It was only a matter of time before I blogged about him on here.
Pizza Pop was quite literally one of a kind. There is no other way to describe him. He was a ticket scalper for a living... or as he called it “a facilitator of supply/demand economics.” Once when asked about any regrets from his ticket sales, Pizza Pop confessed, “There was that time I told a Carolina fan that he needed to buy my ticket immediately if he wanted to hear Dean Smith sing the National Anthem.”
Though some minor fibs may have been told, no one can deny his work ethic. Pizza Pop spent his last few months in hospice care. This would not stop him though. My dad got a call from a concerned nurse one day while he was in care about Pizza Pop selling tickets from his literal hospice bed.
When I decided to write this blog, I asked one of his fellow ticket scalper friends, Bill, who is also like another grandfather to me what his favorite funny/appropriate Pizza Pop story was. He told me it would take him a second to come up with something funny AND appropriate, but responded with this:
"I guess one of my favorites is my wife is from Honduras, so I call her Mi Amor and Pizza Pop called her that till the end when I finally had to fess up in his last few days and say 'you’ve been calling my wife my love for 10 years.'"
He was a hoot.
Pizza Pop loved all sports, but his favorite team was The Yankees.
When my great-grandmother, Pizza Pop's mom, passed away, the family rode in a limousine to the gravesite. At one point during the drive, Pizza Pop asked the driver “who won the Yankees game?" The driver responded, “Yanks lost bad!" And Pizza Pop said, “I knew it was going to be a sad day."
This time of year always makes me think of him. The opening of baseball season, March Madness, the Daytona 500 that just passed and the Masters Tournament around the corner all remind me of my grandfather. However, today I reminisced more than usual about Pizza Pop.
As we all know, the Duke/Carolina basketball game is this weekend. I have been channeling my inner Pizza Pop for the past week trying to get tickets just in case the lottery was not in my favor. With the help of Bill, I was able to secure two upper level tickets.
The lottery came out today and I found out I received a phase 1 ticket?! My best friend since freshman year also got one. We had not won the lottery all season and got Duke tickets?!
With Pizza Pop in mind, I was able to sell my upper-level ticket and could not be more excited to sit in the front of the student section on Saturday night.
I like to believe my joy from today came from Pizza Pop. There is no doubt in my mind that he was looking out for me.
When he was still living, he made sure I was able to attend all of the events I wanted to. Because of my grandfather, I was able to see Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber, the Duke/Carolina ACC Semifinals, etc. And he is still looking out for me now.
Pizza Pop taught me the value of experiences over material items. I will honor him by living life to the fullest, just as he did. I miss him every day but I see him in my dad's and sister, Abbie's, humor, my mom's willingness to do anything for our family and my sister, Anna's, ability to do what she loves and not care about what anybody else thinks.
We love you, Pizza Pop! And GO HEELS! 🐏
With love,
MLC
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