“Watching from the Sidelines”

I used to belong to a gym in downtown Oakland that has a beautiful indoor basketball court. I would always try to get there early–by 9am or so–so that I’d have enough time to do a little bit of a shooting workout before the guys on the noontime basketball league would arrive and begin warming up. Every day, including weekends, an army of guys ranging from about 30 to 50-something (and sometimes older) would show up to play some pretty hard ball during the mid-day lunch hours. Truth be told, I never payed much attention to the players on the court. When it comes to the kind of casual, sub-amateur play that takes place at most gyms, I prefer shooting on my own to watching others. I was always a lot more interested in the guys on the sidelines. The look in their eyes as they each waited their turn to join in said so much more about the meaning and love of basketball than anything that ever happened on the court.

8-Rock