What It's All About

The past four years have been one crazy ride of basketball.  

Four years ago someone asked my husband if he would be willing to coach a group of boys in a first and second grade basketball league.  Since he loves the game of basketball, and hoped our son would love it as well, he said yes.

Back then they looked like this.

And they played like this.

 

See how that looks like utter chaos?  Well, it was.  There was tons of coach involvement, and a significant amount of traveling, double dribbling, and missed shots.  I am fairly sure the clueless moments outweighed the focused moments by far. 

But now they look like this.  

They are bigger.

Stronger.

Faster.

And a whole lot more focused.

The best part is, they are fun.  Don't get me wrong, they can be intense.  But they also like to laugh, cheer, and encourage each other to be better than the game before.  My favorite part about this team is that in almost every game they play, they have a different high scorer.  No stand-outs, no hot-shots, just solid basketball players.

This season has been rough.  We won the first two games before Christmas, which determined that we would play in the toughest division from that point on.  It meant that we were primarily 4th and 5th graders (we have one 6th grader) playing the hardest teams in a 5th and 6th grade league.  We lost.  A lot.

Until yesterday.  Yesterday the boys fought like crazy and won their first game by two points.  They moved into round two and won their second game by 19.  This put us against a team in round three who heartily trounced us earlier in the season.  Four intense quarters and one overtime later, our boys came out victorious with a 2 point win. They were supposed to play for the championship today, but the games were canceled due to snow.

The boys were out-of-their-minds excited.  My husband was on top of the world. The fans were proud of their team.

I am positive my husband and son will remember this game and this day for years to come.

But my husband will also forever remember the fan who approached him after the game.

He said, "I know I am for the other team, but I just have to say, if Inman had to lose, I am glad it was to your team.  Your boys are good sports and they are fun to play.  And your fans are great, too.  You deserved that game.  Congratulations."

That, my friends, is what I consider a classy fan.

And while winning is fun, that compliment made our day.

Because that's what it's all about.