Love and basketball

Mike Grabner knew all about courting when he popped into the Rail Bar with his buddies on a random August night in 1960.

A star player on the Oshkosh High School basketball team, Grabner played college ball at UWO. The soft-spoken gentleman tried his hand at a different kind of courting when he spotted Rosie Kolosso playing cards with her friends that night at the bar.

“Mike and his college buddies came in and they knew somebody at our table so they stood around talking,” Rose said.

An avid angler, Mike fished around for details as the group casually chatted, and he liked what he heard.

“I kind of liked her right from the start. She was fun to be with that night, although I didn’t ask her out until the next time we met,” he said. “Just talking to her, it seemed like we had stuff in common. We talked about her dad and what he did. He liked to hunt and fish and that was the same with me.”

The next day, Rose’s friend came over with some news.

“You know that tall guy you met last night? Well, he’d like to see you again.”

Things progressed pretty quickly from there. Almost exactly a year after their first date, Mike and Rose married and they’ve been true partners ever since. This year, they’ll celebrate their 64th anniversary. They’ve raised four kids, who have raised a dozen grandchildren, with a great-grandchild and one more on the way this summer.

And they still spend plenty of time on the courts. The Grabners’ two sons, Mike and Pat, both played college basketball — Mike for Northern Illinois and Pat for the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Grabners roadtripped all over as they tried to make it to all of their games.

These days they watch their grandchildren play. Ben and Bo play power forward on Kimberly and their little sister Greta plays in the 12U youth league.

“We have a lot of basketball memories,” Rose said. “We’ve been doing that for years.”

The court hasn’t changed in these six decades, and neither has the advice Rose would give parents of the players.

“Just support them,” she said. “If they’re not having a good game, just support them. Always tell them something positive before you tell them something negative. It’s just a game. Enjoy it. Don’t let the pressure get to them, although it’s hard. Encourage them to be team leaders, to be strong. But, again, it’s just a game.”

Both Mike and Rose say the greatest joy of their life is watching their kids grow up to be good parents. In addition to Rose’s impressive cheekbones, and Mike’s athletic ability, the Grabners passed on a love of family to their offspring.

“That is so rewarding. I’m so proud of my kids because they are such great parents,” Rose said.

They learned from the best. Rose said the qualities that make Mike such a good family man were evident from the beginning.

“He has always been very honest. Kindhearted,” she said. “He’s a great dad and grandpa, a great great-grandpa. He’s a very good Catholic person and just down to earth. He loves to be around his grandkids and his grandkids love to be around him.”

He also loved to be around his wife.

“She’s just good to everybody,” Mike said. “She’ll help anybody out anytime…including me. In fact she just came in now with the dog. Our son just got a puppy so she takes him out every day.”

A two-month old black lab, the puppy sometimes has a mind of his own, but Rose said she enjoys helping out.

“It’s just fun,” she said. “Every day’s a blessing. We’re keeping busy with the grandkids. I think that’s important rather than just not being involved anymore.”