I’ve made it abundantly clear that I am obsessed with the ’90s so the Hot Catholic of Lent: Day 6! will make a lot of sense to fans of the best decade of all.

Duke Basketball God Christian Laettner!

Mushroom cut aside, Christian Laettner was my crush from 1991 to 1992 when he led the Duke Blue Devils to back to back National Championships. My older sister Katie liked him first – she kept his Duke basketball card on her mirror and when I would sneak in her room to borrow her Joe Cool earrings I’d gaze longingly at Christian. “Someday we’ll be together,” I’d whisper as I gently blew him a kiss. Coincidentally, at that time I started making my first mix tapes and included the song “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross & the Supremes, as well as “Waiting for the Night” (to kiss Christian Laettner-lyrics added by me) by Depeche Mode and “Love Is Blindness” (Because I’m 12 with a perm and you’re a super hot babe) by U2.

This was what I was working with around that time.

I ended up following Christian to Duke, but I swear not in a stalkerish, “Every Breath You Take” kind of way (though I did include that song on a mix tape in 1993 when he was playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves). Christian, after all, graduated in 1992 and  I matriculated at Duke in 1997. But our Duke experiences have a lot in common. His senior year, the Blue Devils won the NCAA Championship at the Metrodome in Minneapolis and my senior year, 2001, the Blue Devils won the NCAA Championship at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The only difference is that Christian was actually playing in 1992 while I was watching in 2o01 on big screens set up in Cameron Stadium and drinking Busch Lights I snuck in my cargo pants pockets. Minor differences.

Christian retired from professional basketball in 2005 and has engaged in various business ventures since then, including real estate development and youth training camps. He divorced his wife Lisa Thibault last year after twenty years of marriage. They have three children together.

And yes, even without his mushroom cut, 47-year-old Christian’s still got it.

Not gonna lie, I’m getting some young Alan Alda vibes.

So Christian, congrats on being the Hot Catholic of Lent: Day 6!