We've all done it.
Messing around in our driveways as kids...
"Three...two...one..." and we hurl up a shot "at the buzzer."
If our scrawny arms happened to get the ball up and through the basket we went berserk, feverishly running through the front yard and down the street with our hands raised, yelling, "And the crowd....goes....WILDDDD!"
(Of course, if we didn't make it, we simply replayed the scenario over and over and over again until we did finally made the game-winning shot. If only it worked like that in real life...)
Growing up making that shot in the driveway was always an exciting way to end the day after Mom called us in for dinner.
But there really is no comparison to experiencing that exact childhood dream on the floor in real life.
Except the crowd didn't go wild. They just sat down, silent.
Let me explain how all of this shook down:
We were on the road at Bowling Green, home of the Falcons. Buffalo has only won one game (ever) at Bowling Green. It was my freshman year.
editor's note: I am now, proudly, the only UB Men's Basketball player ever to win two games at Bowling Green.
Needless to say, it's not an easy place to play.
Before the game, I was sitting in the locker room. It was just me, one teammate, our head coach and the radio announcer - for identity purposes we'll call him Smurf (you'll see why).
I'm lacing up my shoes as Smurf walks over toward Coach for his usual pregame interview. Making his way across the closet that they gave us as a locker room, Smurf trips over a gym bag or something and nearly falls on his face.
You have to understand, Smurf is not what you would call a tall person. He stands maybe 5-5.
Coach obviously witnesses his stumble, laughs and yells sarcastically, "Whoaa! Careful!"
To which I add, "It's alright, he wouldn't have too far to fall anyways."
This brought a chuckle to my teammate, myself and even our coach. But Smurf - who is quite tired of our short person jokes, shoots back at me, "Real funny. You better not miss a shot. And if you hit the game-winner I'm gonna say 'Why the heck would they give HIM the ball to take the last shot?' on the radio."
I'm not lying, that really happened.
And as fate would have it, in a tie game with about eight seconds left to play our point guard came off a ball screen and pitched the ball back to me. From a few steps beyond the arc, I caught, turned and fired a rainbow that dropped straight through the net.
Unfortunately, amidst the excitement and chaos, I had forgotten what I had told another teammate before our last game. I had said that if I hit the game winner, I'll do a dance (I demonstrated said dance) and "beat the beat." ("beating the beat" is a move made popular by a new reality television show - if you're not familiar with it, don't worry - you're not missing much.)
My teammate reminded me of my broken promise today. I was bummed.
Obviously I would never really beat the beat after hitting a shot. But still...
***special thanks and a huge shout-out to Hugh (hope I spelled that right). His driving expertise got us safely to Bowling Green, Ohio and back - and was without a doubt the reason I was able to hit the game-winner. You're the man, see you soon.
It's time to get some food and get some rest because tomorrow is our game against Akron. We've been hungry for a shot at the Zips since last season's MAC Championship Game, so head over to Alumni Arena and check out what should be a barnburner.
