A little background:
I played basketball in high school. I was never a starter (I got as close as the 7th man), but I got a fair amount of playing time. We were good, and I'm not bragging when I say that. We were really good (okay maybe a little bragging). As in, we went to the state tournament three times in a row in the mid-1990's. (when I was a junior and senior, and they went again after my class graduated). One local area coach remarked, after he was asked if Milnor would be able to regroup after graduating my class of 5 players, that Milnor doesn't regroup, they just reload. We never won state, but to be one out of the 8 teams in the state tournament is a big deal. Let me rephrase, in North Dakota it's a huge deal. North Dakota Class B basketball is the king among sports in our state. Heady times in those days.
However, you always knew when it was tournament time because our hometown crowd would at least double in size during the tournament games. You would see faces in the crowd that you hadn't seen since the previous year's district, regional or state tournaments. And, I didn't really like it. You would think that having a bigger crowd to root us on would have made me happy. But, whether it was being an obstinate teenager or if it was just sour grapes, I felt slighted. Why couldn't these fans show up during the regular season games when we worked our asses off to get to where we are now? Now that it's time to receive a trophy for what we've done, now you want to see us play? Bandwagon fans. And, I didn't appreciate them one bit.
And, now here I am. A bandwagon fan. Something I told myself I would never become. My hometown (and current town) girls basketball team is playing in regionals this week. They won in a quarter-final game last night that not many people thought they stood a chance in. And, I want to send a huge Congratulations!! to them for that. The semi-finals are tonight, and I'm going to watch them play. This will be the first game I've seen all year in person, boys or girls. And, I'm pretty shamed by that fact.
Every year before basketball season starts I tell myself that I'm going to go to the games. Maybe not every game, but most of the home ones anyway. It never happens. I always decide that I don't have enough time, I'm too tired, yada-yada. Sorry excuses. And, in turn, I now realize that the "bandwagon" fans during our day are just like me. Life and time pass by fast. What was once the start of the season is now almost the end.
So, I will head to Wahpeton tonight to cheer on the Milnor Bison. Win or lose, they finished out the year strong, and that's something to be proud of.
And, I will reflect tonight on my own time spent playing and then winning the Regional Tournament. It was an awesome time, and I would never have traded it for anything in the world.
Go Bison!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment