My favorite breakfast in town is a taco at Carmelita’s on Broadway with one of the city’s icons, Rosemary Kowalski. You may remember that we celebrated Rosemary for her service and the longstanding support of the RK Group at our Hall of Fame Tribute in May. Rosemary and I became friends a decade ago when she helped us during NCAA Final Four site visits. There is no one better to tell the story of our city, and our culture of hospitality.
Rosemary grew up playing basketball at a time when girls only played half court and wore long dresses as uniforms. She will proudly show her team photo to prove it. During her second Final Four site visit, she arrived wearing a brand-new pair of Michael Jordan sneakers and has made it a point to wear them any time we get together.
Rosemary recently celebrated her 99th birthday and at our most recent breakfast, pulled out her iPhone and showed me a countdown app that highlighted she was on her 42nd day of her 100th year. Her goal is to do as many special things as she can this year, including taking in her first Spurs game with Wemby on the court. She hopes to get a picture with the 19-year-old and tag it as #1999.
The same day I had breakfast with Rosemary, I had the honor of speaking on a panel about the “Pivotal Moment in San Antonio Sports,” hosted by the San Antonio Report during their annual CityFest event. The theme this year was Meet the Moment.
As San Antonio Sports prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024, our team is ready to meet our moment. This is such a pivotal time for our city when it comes to the future of sports facilities, hometown teams, incredible events like the Valero Alamo Bowl and the Final Four, and the positive impact we are collectively making on San Antonio.
Day #42 was an awesome day. And for those keeping score, Rosemary is three-for-three on Final Four site visit wins. Like Rosemary, together we need to meet the moment, celebrate who we are as a community and look forward to the next day.
Game on!