Thursday, March 19, 2015 – Here Come the Big Boys

Today I will spend my afternoon watching very large and handsome young men dressed in uniforms of tank tops and long shorts run and bounce and then toss and catch a round ball. Then after several passes, one of the young men will attempt to throw it through a hoop. Today the big boys (no pun intended) begin to play. The big schools with recognized names begin play.

I actually played girls’ basketball in high school. Let me rephrase that – For two years I attempted to play girls’ basketball. The few outstanding qualities I possessed at the time were: height at 5’ 8” and some small level of athletic (i.e. – eye hand coordination) ability. However what little eye-hand coordination I possessed was compromised because I wore glasses. Those beautiful, wing-tipped, cat-eyed monstrosities, if you recall. I had to wear a mask to avoid breaking them. This is a fundamental truth of basketball at any level – You cannot play basketball while wearing a catcher’s mask. You cannot see anything except what is directly in front of you. The wearing of a mask is probably why I turned out to be a much better softball player than basketball player. There is actually a position which requires you to wear a mask. Unfortunately, MHS and every other high school in Texas did not have organized and sanctioned softball teams. But I have forty years of softball stories with trophies packed away somewhere to prove my participation. And unlike most catchers, I still have my original working knees. And in my mind and dreams, I can still throw out that runner going to second and I can still hold on to the ball as the runner slides into home plate causing me to go ass over head for OUT NUMBER THREE!

But that is in my mind and dreams. Today I will be in my chair (IMC) watching a couple of teams from the men’s NCAA Bracket. Tomorrow the women’s NCAA basketball tournament begins. By tomorrow evening I will have carpel tunnel of the thumb from channel changing with the remote and my eyes will look like basketball balls.

But for today – Sic’ Em Bears! And because you are from the state of Texas, I wish the team from Austin good bounces also.