Member-only story
FOR the LOVE of BASKETBALL
Basketball was my first love; she was there before my Queens and the bevy of Co-Eds that came along once they saw us together. She was there in the beginning; I was an 8-year-old unknown baller. We rode together on my bike to the Spindale House to sign up to play with her. Our love affair only increased when I got my own later that year, I took her to the Carver Middle school ball field.
We would spend countless hours together. She endured 90 degree middle of summer heat without one complaint. The rain would come and the snow would fall. My Love was there making me better while the other ballers were tucked safely in their heated and air-conditioned homes watching the Little Rascals and Batman. While we were putting in the work to dribble faster, shoot better, dream bigger.
I fantasized about stealing the ball, racing down the court as the clock ticked down, beating the buzzer to win championships for the Spindale House Tigers. Yes, my first team I played for were the Tigers; we had orange t-shirts and shorts. Basketball was my companion when in our first year we lost all six games. Although we led our league in scoring, we cried together after each loss. We wiped away our tears to get even better. We practiced advanced drills like the Mikan Swish, Rhythm, and Around the World.
