I have a deep love of all things hoop. I watch NBA, college, anything on tv around basketball. In my younger days, I used to spend 4-5 nights a week hooping it up in one way or another…. then, I blew my knee out and went through several years of rehab. It was really that time in my life that learned how to over-eat and over-indulge and over-sloth. Once my spirit was crushed by knee injury; I just never went back to it. And once you stop and stop for real, its really hard to go back.
With all this weight loss and renewed interest in my own fitness I set a short term goal of playing basketball again. At Lextech, the guys that I work with have been playing every Tuesday. I decided that this spring was going to be my grand comeback to the game that I love. I’m in decent enough shape having started running and lifting weights; I just hadn’t had much opportunity to actually pick up a basketball to actually practice shooting. I knew that I would be terrible; but the only way to start it to do it.
This past Tuesday, I met up with the guys and we played some 4 on 4 half court. I was right…. I’ve become terrible. I suppose with 10 years of sitting on the couch and not actually playing I expected it. But let me tell you; I was so happy to be out there, taking a pass into the post and taking the worst, most off balance shot you had ever seen made me so happy that I could have cried. No matter how bad I was and how slow I moved I knew that I was taking a step in the right direction.
Of course, all this joy of being able to play there are some really important lessons that I feel like I have to pass on to you, gentle reader:
- Don’t wear new basketball shoes for the first time going to play; your feet will hurt and bleed
- When you are old, like I am, make sure to ice your knee after playing
- Don’t wear socks that are too thick for the new, uncomfortable shoes you should have never put on in the first place
- Stock up on ibuprofen. You will need it
- FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON’T WEAR NEW SHOES… WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, IDIOT?
All in all, I can’t wait until next week; when I’m sure I will be better than I was this week; and I cannot wait for the next game… bloody feet and all! By the way, I won the MVP trophy for the week. Apparently, I didn’t embarrass myself and played ok. As a right of passage, all players on the Lextech Tuesday basketball night are given a nickname… I shall henceforth be known as “Orange Crush” (thanks to the bright orange t-shirt I was wearing)