I'll begin by stating this, what is being written here is not a lecture. It's not advice. Its not some sort of walk through of a complex game changing play. All this is my thoughts, thoughts that have raced across my mind and converged into a ball of despair and exasperation. I guess it begins and ends with a simple statement:
We are not a Team.
And yes, to whatever reasons that may have come across your mind just now as to why this statement is true, regardless of whatever it was...the answer is Yes. That is exactly why.
Is it because we lack chemistry? Yes.
Is it because we lack talent? Yes.
Is it because we play the zone? Yes.
Is it because we dont play the zone? Yes.
Is it because in third grade I stuck a 'Kick Me' sign on the class nerd due to peer pressure and the chance to be finally considered cool by this one dude who claimed he was in a gang even though his parents were accountants who lived in white suburbia?
God Yes.
Maybe that sounds horrible, the fact that we arent a team, but really its not all bad. Its just true, and its okay. Really.
You dont just slam together and motley crew of rag tag individuals, slap the same name (or in our case, lack of name) on their chest and proclaim them a team. It takes work. Really, it takes a lot of hard work. Like any relationship there has to be a sense of understanding, sacrifice, and desire for a common goal. And even then things can go wrong. Even then people can fight or point fingers. So its okay, its normal. We arent a team.
A part of me would like to use the previous sentence as a transition about why pointing fingers is wrong, why talking about people behind their backs is cowardice, why we should all strive to be altruistic members of society (or better yet, a family). But I wont. Because while some might claim its the biggest issue or factor in our not being a team, its really such a non factor. People judge people, that is just human nature...whether it is your wife, your brother, your mother, your best friend, everyone has at one point or another pointed their fingers towards them, made accusations, and let them hear why they are wrong and you are not. It happens. Its life. We deal with it.
No what probably is the biggest indicator of our Non Team, is what happens when the game isnt being played. Its the lack of acknowledgement we give one another, its the lack of support we have for our team, its the fact that we are all perfectly fine with drawing lines in the sand instead of embracing the entire beach.
Its the fact that we notice when a guy is fatigued, and dont realize that his fatigue is due to him leaving it all on the floor. Its the fact that when a guy screws up, turns it over, or misses a defensive assignment no one notices the self despair on his face. Its the fact that when someone clearly had a bad game no arms are put around him, no high fives are given to his effort, no "you'll get 'em next time" are spoken. And this applies to all of us, me included. We have become blind in our own self reigtiousness, deaf in our own egos...we've lost track of what the point of all this ever was.
We all play basketball for a reason. We love the game, we like the feeling of accomplishment when the ball goes through the rim, we love the joy of winning. We take pride in the little skills we have honed since our childhoods. But right now, none of us are doing that. And people are asking themselves why they are even bothering.
Thats how far we've fallen.
I'd like to say that somehow this little blog post will have the power to change minds, that it will drive some great point into all our hearts. It wont. It's not meant to. Its instead to say something that I've wanted to say since this league was formed.
Thank You. Sincerely.
I always, since I began playing basketball, have wanted to play league basketball. Play for a team, play in an indoor court with refs and foul shooting and established rules. I always wanted to go out there and be Kirk Hinrich, be a great team mate if not even a star. Be a valuable member of a team. And even though this is really a Non Team with all its dysfunction, it has meant a lot to me. To be here, to be playing.
Islam often preaches that we should appreciate the small things that happen in our lives today, to thank Allah for every moment because they can be our final moments. That is the mentality I took with this team. My life has gone through and will continue to go through many changes, if not just from the milestones I will eventually be reaching, then just by the virtue of age and the deterioration of my body.
3 months ago I had basically resigned to the fact that I would never play in a league game ever, that I would just due to injuries stop playing basketball all together. Then this league happened, and it has meant a lot more than it probably should.
Whether all we do is point fingers, and whether we hate each other somewhere in our hearts, and regardless of the fact that we may never win a game or that this situation isnt anywhere close to my ideal...I still am glad I joined this league, that I wear a team jersey with my name on the back, that at least for a little while I was part of a team.
And so again. Thank You. Sincerely. This in some strange disillusioned way... has been a dream come true. And how will this dream end...?
T.B.D.
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