Friday, April 26, 2013

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To "Theme Thursday" #2

If you don't know, I'm attempting to write a series of posts about this list of "do overs" I'd like to be granted. It all started innocently enough, just another Theme Thursday post hosted by Jenn at Something Clever 2.0. But a funny thing happened, several people said they'd like to see me write about each of the things on my list. I was surprised by the interest, but thought, actually that might be a fun thing to do... my big concern was that the little snippets were far more interesting than the actual stories. I'm not a good judge of these things, it being my life and all, and my life seems pretty average to me, but I thought, what the heck! The worst that can happen is nobody is interested and since I only have like 9 people who read this thing, who cares, right?

So keeping that in mind, here is the second installment on my list: "I'd keep playing basketball the same year (6th grade, see this post) even though I ran the wrong way when I finally got the ball..."

Sixth grade was probably one of the most humiliating years of my life. Seriously. The year of peeing myself, the great rabbit sandwich incident, and basketball. Ugh. Basketball.

I've never been athletic. NEVER. Unless you count power reading. I could have taken a gold medal in that event. For some reason though, in sixth grade, I decided to play basketball. Maybe I just wanted to hang out with a friend, maybe it was because I really liked my sixth grade homeroom teacher and she was the coach, maybe my mother made me try it. Who knows? I tried out for the team though, and made it (probably because of that teacher/coach - it certainly was not my athletic ability that got me on the team).

So it was bad enough that I wasn't very good. Even in practice the other kids never gave me the ball, heck, they didn't even bother to cover me unless the coach yelled at them to do so. On occasion, I'd get passed the ball, but really very VERY rarely. I think I actually brought books to practice because I was not getting played even when it didn't count. Let's be honest, I sucked.

I wanted to do well, and when I did get the ball I did my best to get it to the basket and shoot. Oddly, I have pretty good aim so I managed to sink a few. Maybe that was why I was there. Looking back I remind myself of Chief from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" when Jack Nicholson tries to get him to play basketball. (Foul language warning, if you're so inclined to be sensitive to such things)




Maybe I was a little better than that.

Anyway, we finally get to the first game and everyone is pumped. We're all convinced we're going to play the best game of our lives, it's gonna be awesome, right? Well, I sit out most of the first half. Not surprising. I'm pretty sure we had a decent lead which is why I got put in to play. Unbelievably, almost instantly, one of my teammates throws me the ball... I look down the court and there is no one there! What luck! I take off running toward the basket, I might just have a shot at this, I'm thinking. The crowd is going nuts, they are screaming my name, my coach is yelling, my teammates are yelling... Yes, YES! I'm going to make it! I shoot and... Um, did you know that halfway through a basketball game you switch sides of the court?? 

'Nuff said.

I ran straight out the gym doors and never looked back.

I'm not saying I'd have ever been any good at this game, but in my list of do overs, I wish I'd gone back in. I wish I'd finished the game. I wish I would have been able to laugh it off and keep playing, keep trying. It isn't the biggest of big deals, but it is one of those things I would do over if I could. Shoot, if I'm going to do it over maybe I should just run the right way...

6 comments:

  1. I would have done the same thing---run right out that door! I hated playing sports---I was a bookworm, too. In 6th grade my folks made me sign up for a girls softball team. Turned out I could hit that ball right out of the field! But I also threw the bat with it.....this happened several times and of course I was benched quite a bit after that. Had to do the walk of shame that whole summer because my parents wouldn't let me quit. I would have run if given half a chance, so you're in good company here!

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  2. At least you knew what direction to run... I hope... (Thanks girl!)

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  3. That was so funny Traci. As I read your post I could clearly imagine the crowd shouting, screaming at you, being in a frenzy whilst you're running top speed to the other side - thinking you are doing your team proud, ha ha ha. The shame you must have felt afterwards...
    Looking on the bright side with all that said, you also must have given a whole lot of people a good life long memory. How many of them must be re-telling that story of how this young girl swapped sides in the middle of the game, at their social events. You might even be on video. You could be famous too without knowing it. What a funny story :)

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    1. Glad I could make you laugh. It certainly wasn't funny then, but the retelling gives it some humor. I don't think we had video cameras then (1981), and I'm glad! these poopr kids who get caught on film doing something like this... you'd never get over it!
      Thanks for stopping by, always nice to see you!

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  4. They could make a family show based on all your awkward middle school moments, I swear.

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    1. Now THAT would be something! I'm not sure what, but something! Thanks!

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