A Bizarre, Yet Somehow Fitting, End... and a New Enemy

I began writing this blog entry on April 28th. But it is only now - with almost a full week having passed - that I have been able to wrap myself around the events of the evening of April 27th...

As the Four Seasons once sang - "Oh what a night..."

The season for the enigma that was Team Orange basketball is over. I find myself contemplating how much energy I should invest in sharing the lurid details of my hoops team's playoff ouster (basically, writing a story that very few people would care about at all) - as last night's events were so bizarre that I feel like I HAVE to share them.

We entered the playoffs as the 9-seed, out of 14. This was a product of us blowing more games this season that we should have won than I can count - but I digress... Last night we played the 8-seed, a team with one upper-level scorer and one serviceable big man. Team Yellow's best player is fairly decent. Apparently, he was a walk-on at St. Joe's - but I have never been impressed by such things. He is a very good shooter, but one that despises contact. He is also a cheap-shot artist and a complete jackhole. Earlier this season, he threw a ball in our point guard Jimmy's (one of the classiest, if not THE classiest player I have ever taken the court with) face for no reason other than Jimmy playing tough defense. Thursday night would be no different, in fact, he took even more liberties than in our regular season meeting.

Fast-forward to overtime (during regulation this scumbag would throw two very cheap elbows and an intentional head-butt). I scored the first four points of overtime (which felt really, REALLY good). Then, all hell broke loose. Team Yellow Scumbag #1 decides he doesn't like being double-teamed, and decides to throw a vicious elbow to the head of my teammate Jeff. The referees (yes, there were two) did not see this as a problem. Team Yellow Scumbag takes off down the floor with the ball in an attempt to score. Before I can foul him (I hadn't seen this particular elbow) Jeff races after him down the floor and delivers a SWEET cross-body taken right from the book of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. An intentional foul is called. This was bad. Bad quickly turned into something far, far worse when an unnamed teammate (let's call him "Rob Y.") leaps onto the floor (he was at that time not in the game) to find out what exactly the referee(s) might have been thinking. Two technical fouls and an ejection later, our 4-point lead was now a 4-point deficit.

I am not sure what I am more disappointed in. Our season ending, "Rob Y." for not being smarter about his protest, or my not getting my hands on the Team Yellow Scumbag other than a couple of hard fouls. I am disappointed in the loss. I had my best game of the season by far. But I am glad that some of my guys finally showed some anger and some chutzpah (heart!) and rallied around one another against this guy. Even some of our most nice/passive guys were upset. One even went so far as to not move his knee out of the way of the falling Team Yellow Scumbag after the Jeff cross-body, making sure he got a double-whammy on the way down. That is how much of a jackhole this guy was, our nicest guys wanted to hurt him. I am not all that disappointed in Rob either. After hearing about the dirtiness of the elbow, I know that he was beside himself afetr witnessing it. I liken it to reactions by players and coaches who would go into veritble spasms after watching Bill Laimbeer get away with cheap shots. You see something so blatant and dirty, you will often lose control. I do wish that I saw the elbow that caused the fracas. If I had, Jeff would not have had a chance to throw the cross-body, as I would have clotheslined the hell out of this chach as he went up for the shot. After the game, I was restrained by both referees and a teammate as I told the Team Yellow Scumbag this: "pray I do not see you on the street. If I do, I WILL f#$% you up. I will f#$% you up bad". Truth is, I probably wouldn't attack him on the street. However, I do have the motivation necessary to put a team in again for next season. This season has been so frustrating, both my play personally and that of my team, that I was on the fence as far as doing this anymore. But, the Team Yellow Scumbag has re-lit the fire in my ample belly. My team will be back, albeit with some personnel changes. In fact, I cannot wait to play this chach again. It will be the longest 40 minutes of his life. Guaranteed.

[Currently Listening - The Transplants - "Sad But True"]