Now ... On To The Finals

I was inspired (and as it turns out – a few others were as well) by Kevin’s thesis on the love of basketball to venture to the halls of Ursinus College to see the UC Bears take on the Red Devils of Dickinson in the 2008 Centennial Conference Men’s Basketball Championship.

(Note to Trip & Kevin: I ran in to Karl & Joanne ((sub note to Beth: Karl & Joanne say ‘hi’)) – Karl & Joanne told me that they too were so inspired by Kev’s rant that they made it out to the game! So – it’s official, our readership has stretched out beyond the borders and numbers of our immediate family.)

But before I head off on my rant, I feel the need to reprint the quote from the plaque at The Palestra that Kev used yesterday: “To win the game is great. To play the game is greater. But to love the game is the greatest of all." 

Yesterday, the “love” of the game (and its players) was overly abundant at the Helfferich Gymnasium in College, PA.

Players, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grand-parents, family members young & old, friends of the team, friends of the crowd, folks who just wanted to see a basketball game, and a joyfully boisterous student body brought back the memories of those Saturday afternoons of Big 5 play at The Palestra (and the bargain prices on the soda & pretzels helped, too.)

Now, on to the game … Wow!!! A fast paced, end-to-end adventure, where the lead switched hands throughout the entire game – with leads reaching no more than four points. It was great watching the 6-10 Michael Shema shuffle through the lane, with a soft hook that found its mark more often than not; I was amazed as Nick Shattuck score from (literally) every spot on the court; and I was thrilled watching both teams diving on the ground for loose balls, hustling across the out of bounds lines – trying to ‘save’ the ball for their team. It was everything I look for in a basketball game. And it was the exact reason I stopped watching the ‘pros’ - which was around the same time that the refs stopped calling “Traveling” in the NBA.

But, and here I can only speak for myself, the highlight of the game was watching the kid that Kevin wrote about yesterday; our nephew, John Noonan. John played a great game. He played some great defense; he made steals, foul shots, 2 pointers and (Yes!!!) 3 pointers!!!

As the game clock began to wind down, and the score was close, I felt as nervous as I have felt in a long time. Why??? I wasn’t playing. I didn’t attend Ursinus. And, no matter who won the game, my life would not change one bit. But, there I was, living & dying with each possession of the ball. Watching my nephew and his buddies take on a team of kids (I’m 47 now – I’m allowed to call college kids - “kids”) that I’m guessing are all pretty good kids as well. The reason I feel that I’m safe in saying that they were all ‘good kids’ was – well, it was the way all the players acted on the court. They all hustled … they all gave their best … and, not once did I see or hear any trash talking going on. No chest pounding. No finger pointing. No punches thrown all game.

And, as the clock hit 00:00, the Ursinus Bears were on top – and on thier way to the finals.

After the game, the crowd hung out in the lobby – waiting for the teams to emerge from their locker rooms. I walked throughout the lobby, listening to the conversations by the friends and families of both teams. And, almost to a person, they were all basically the same conversation: Great game, great atmosphere, this is “the way” to watch basketball.

The players came out and worked the room. Shaking hands & hugging a lot of the crowd. And the phase I heard most often; “Thank you for coming to our game.”

To the kids from Dickinson, McDaniel, Gettysburg, Johns Hopkins & Ursinus:
Thank You.