She Likes Basketball

Going back to my athletic roots

Yesterday I made the bold move (a relative term here) to sign up for a co-ed basketball league. Since college, I haven’t been in an intramural basketball league, so we will see how this goes.

Like many American children, I grew up playing basketball. No offense to baseball, but to me, it was the quintessential American past-time. My dad grew up playing it in the backyard with his brothers. I played it in the backyard with my sibling. When I have kids, I will teach them how to play it.

Because simply put, basketball is fun. I’ve played a lot of sports in my life and basketball is the most fun. I remember playing in a township league in grade school and anticipating while on defense where the ball would be thrown so I could steal it and go on a fast break. The rush, especially if you make the basket at the following end, well there is nothing like it.

Now I am not the tallest of individuals nor the most hand-eye coordinated (there was probably a reason that my best sports were the two that required little to none of that: track and cross country), but I can hustle. Philadelphians appreciate the hustle. Yeah, they love athletes who win, but they revere athletes who give it their all. Brian Dawkins. Zach Ertz. Aaron Rowand. Chase Utley. None of those men will ever have to buy a beer in Philly again.

Besides being a Philadelphian, it was pretty much guaranteed from the start that I would love basketball. Philly has a long basketball history. I’m…