Jeff said he needed a player for basketball and I said I would play. The last time I played in a rec league was about 3 years ago. I quit because I wasn’t very effective and it was damaging my body. 3 years of rest equals 3 years of rust.

Before I begin the game, I must take you through the process. I didn’t have a pair of shoes to wear so I waited until the last minute and went to Dick’s. They had the Lebron’s that were $90 and looked like they were made for someone who knew how to play basketball. I’d be laughed out of the gym.

These weren’t for me.

I then went to the saddest Modell’s and couldn’t find a selection. This led me to the House of Hoops. I’m greeted by a high schooler and tell him I’m looking for a pair of shoes and he starts some spiel that started with these are the Kyrie’s, KD’s, and Kobe’s. Whoa, little fella, you’re not speaking my language. Bonus points for the movie but if you don’t know it immediately, you don’t know movies.

So then we get to the far side and I’m greeted with my savior, the red tag clearance shoe for old white men joining a rec league.

Now these were still 80 bucks (and far too flashy), but at least they would serve the purpose. They were 11.5 instead of 11’s, but for one season out of retirement, they’d do.

The Game

I had no idea what level of competition to expect. I hadn’t played in years and my only real goal was not getting hurt so I could go on my European trip on Friday which I’ll write about in detail tomorrow. We have 6 players and one of the guys is running late so I’m starting. Here goes nothing.

Play begins and the game feels the same. I’m not comfortable with the ball in my hands and was adequately playing defense. About 2 minutes in I take an unexpected hit from one of my own players and roll my ankle in a minor way and was thinking this is going to be a problem. A few plays later a rebound accidentally bounces to me and I accidentally put it back in the hoop. First bucket in years.

The team was down 27-22 at halftime and went on a scoring binge to begin the 2nd half. We took the lead, never looked back, and won the game by about 10 over a team that was more talented. I was ineffective and had 2-3 bad turnovers that make me wonder why I’m trying to play again. I also bricked 2 foul shots and the defenders barely cover me which is exactly what they should be doing. If I had any ability, it’d make for an incredible ruse. Kind of like Keyser Soze except I’m not a cripple.

The team has some offensive talent and Jeff is a beast which the blog is crediting in this sentence. I’m sort of iffy on my commitment because I know I’m going to be hurting tomorrow. It’s not the cardio, it’s the physicality. My body isn’t made for basketball anymore. The cuts. The touch. The intricacies of the game. I felt like I was doing more watching than playing which is tough.

So, stay tuned for one more introspective post on what I’m about to do over the next few days as the Shee said they are his favorite posts. I will be blogging even less than I have been if that’s possible. I’ll also try to write some football posts as I had a nice week last week and am back in the sports betting arena.