Ever since our final game of the season last year, we've seen nothing but a whole lot of blue and white in the gym.
Postseason, summer and fall workouts match us up against a whole lot of ourselves. For anyone who has played pickup basketball, you know it can be fun going up against close friends - it can lead to some very competitive ball as well.
For six and a half months, the University at Buffalo Men's Basketball team has been at each other's throats. And it's not just basketball; we compete day in and day out at everything from video games to favorite sports teams' successes and failures (Steelers, Penguins and Chicago Bulls, if you were wondering. So yeah, I've had a pretty good run this year) to who can cook the best chicken.
Then we woke up this morning.
It was time, for the first time in over a half-year, to compete against somebody who doesn't wear "Buffalo" across his chest.
So at eight o'clock this morning we headed to Denny's. Our everyday breakfast spot over Christmas break (dining halls are closed, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it) would prematurely host us before our trip to St. Bonaventure...bus leaves at nine.
...you'll have to pardon me if I begin to wander or sound disjointed - I'm writing this while watching Halloween on TV. Michael Myers just seems to get to me sometimes. I don't know if it's the mask, the knife, the screaming or the fact that the guy just doesn't ever die...
We boarded the bus promptly at nine and pulled out of the parking lot even more promptly at approximately 9:30 (note sarcasm). The ride is a roller coaster of weather-beaten country roads that literally had us out of our seats on more than one occasion. In between swallowing our stomachs and clutching our seats for dear life, we spotted far more cows than people outside - as well as very limited cell phone service (by very limited, I mean zero bars).
St. Bonnie's graciously offered up their finest locker room accommodations, and 15 oversized basketball players cozily suited up in a room with ample space for no more than ten middle school cross-country runners (this much is expected on the road).
When we squeezed out of the locker room it was all business. We took the court with a gameday mindset and didn't stop working until the scheduled three 20-minute sessions had ended. Ultimately we had "won" the scrimmage, but it's about getting better at this point and I think we did some things today better than we had several days ago. That's progress, and progress over the course of our long season will put us in good situations down the road.
We were out of St. Bonnie's as quickly as we had gotten there (save a few extra minutes to shower - no soap and hand towels were readily available). Before we knew it our Subway bags were empty and we were fighting to get comfortable on the bumpy trip home.
About two hours (and a handful of early bird trick-or-treaters) later, I find myself here in bed, watching Michael Myers brutally attack anyone dumb enough to venture into a dark room without first turning on the lights. It was a long day for only 60 minutes of basketball, but it's 60 minutes I wouldn't have rather spent doing anything else.
I remember youth basketball years ago, spending Saturdays in the gym then going home to watch college basketball on TV, telling Mom and Dad I wanted that to be me when I grew up. Now here I am, on a team of great players, still having fun on Saturdays.
Oh- Michael Myers just claimed another victim.
Happy Halloween
