Basketball

The smell of wood and sweat mix with popcorn from the concession stand. A mix of cheers emit from the stand. The swish of the net as a basket is made. This is W&L basketball, a sport I know nothing about. Watching the W&L mens basketball game last night was an experience I will not forget. While knowing near to nothing about basketball made following the game a little hard to watch at some points, by the end I feel like I was able to figure out the point system, some of the gestures that the referees made, and even that the number on each jersey has no particular meaning.  I noticed little ticks that certain players had, like how one player would wipe his hands on the bottom of his shoes right before each 35 second block started. I remember noticing how all the players would smack each other on the butt, coaches included, gave whacks of encouragement with their clipboards. Meanwhile I was thinking, "Is this a guy thing? Girls sports teams don't do this..." Despite these random observations, I feel like the side conversations happening in the stand made the game for me. Sitting behind me was an old man teaching his grandson about the game. Behind and to my left was a cluster of men making comments on the players' stats and hometowns. I couldn't quite figure out of they were alums or locals but their conversation is what captivated me the most. Yelling in loud, raspy voices, they encouraged the Generals to make baskets, to throw the ball to certain players, etc. They were also making comments about which players should be playing better and what their stats were. It was entertaining listening in on their conversations and I probably learned more about basketball from them than simply watching the game.