Two years ago this week, the reality of the pandemic arrived in Kansas City subtly enough with the strange "what if?" sorts of concerns, such as whether we should still shake hands with people. And what about time-honored media access to take you where you don't get to go? And could it actually come to, gosh, might they have to play Big 12 (and NCAA) Tournament games without fans in the stands?
Days later came the abrupt and startling upheaval of everything as we knew it. The sports world both symbolized that and led the way with massive shutdowns that pivotally ramped up safety protocols.
But having the NCAA Tournament canceled still as a prime indicator of a world off its axis, as Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby amplified at the time: When he was serving on the NCAA's Division I Men's Basketball Committee in 2003, the Department of Defense was in contact with the committee to encourage it to play on during the shock and awe bombing in Iraq.
The message was that the NCAA Tournament "is a huge part of our American culture," Bowlsby said. "And that they would like us to play the tournament and have it be as normal as possible."
Little has felt normal since the start of the COVID time-warp, which began with what Bowlsby on Wednesday called "an out of body experience two years ago."
But having the Big 12 tournaments in town this week certainly comes with a dose of normalcy ... not to mention star-studded and riveting scenes ahead at both the T-Mobile Center for the men's version of the tournament and at Municipal Auditorium for the women's.
And after all the chaos and heartbreak of the last two years, the events that can finally be held before full capacity crowds for the first time since 2019 sure make for a great time to pause and appreciate the place the Big 12 has in Kansas City.
The conference is "in our DNA," as mayor Quinton Lucas put it at what might be called an opening ceremony on Wednesday morning in the KC! Live Block of the Power & Light district across from the T-Mobile Center.
And the DNA of the conference is particularly appealing right here, right now: The men's bracket, which began with Kansas State taking on West Virginia on Wednesday night, features six schools projected to make the NCAA Tournament with Kansas and defending national champion Baylor each projected as No. 1 seeds in ESPN's bracketology as of Wednesday afternoon.
The women's bracket, which begins play with two games on Thursday, also features six teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament and currently has three (Baylor, Texas and Iowa State) in the top 10.
That makes for quite a way to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of Title IX.
So, time it right, and you could go see a dozen or so NCAA Tournament-bound teams and several national title contenders within a few blocks of each other in the next few days.
"It feels like a return to normal," said Bowlsby, who cautioned that there are more letters in the Greek alphabet to signify variants but added, "It feels like we're over the hump."
If so, it's fitting that this second anniversary of where and when it all hit home for us in Kansas City with the jarring mid-tournament cancellation can be marked by at least a semblance of order restored.
This time around, though, maybe we can embrace it and enjoy it all the more than before knowing so much of what we once took for granted really can't be assumed at all.
We never know what's coming tomorrow, we now know as much or more than ever. And even the makeup of the conference itself reflects that: Its ongoing flux in the years to come will mean the departure of Oklahoma and Texas and the additions of Brigham Young, Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston.
So seize these days to enjoy this version of the Big 12, one of our civic treasures through so much, and enjoy these editions of the men's and women's programs.
Because their mere presence, and your ability to attend, is a reminder of how fleeting these sorts of seemingly perennial opportunities can actually become.
