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Post by mr. excellent on Feb 14, 2014 1:33:53 GMT -5
Here's a thread for basketball. Talk about anything basketball I guess.
Tonight I caught a local high school game in my home town. My alma mater just won their divisional championships, which is cool. My younger brother is a senior and starter on the team, so I'm proud of him. It's neat because the high school I went to has sort of lost its shine over the years, programs have taken a hit, and in general the school doesn't have the same legacy and history as the other local high schools that have been around for 40+ years longer. With that comes the difficulty of taking a group of kids who don't have all the extra experience from municipal leagues, or travelling teams, and doing something special with them. Sort of a story of a rag tag group of athletes who worked their way up over the years, even though many of the more experienced athletes were transferring out of he area to attend the other high schools. Legacy type of thing. Anywho, local politics are silly, I'm just happy that the team did something special, even with their humble beginnings.
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Post by Webber3000 on Feb 14, 2014 10:18:25 GMT -5
Actually sounds pretty great. I never watched Basketball or anything, but it's probably the only physical sport I'm kinda good at. I was in my high school team for two years and... Well... We finished last both years... Our only victory was because our opponents had to forfeit for their lack of numbers that day. Haha, but it was a lot of fun still. Always a great feeling to be part of a unified team, even if it's the losing one.
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Post by mr. excellent on Feb 26, 2014 1:59:27 GMT -5
Ha, that's pretty great. The only sports I ever excelled in were cross country and track. I was pretty fast. I'm not too bad these days either, though I'm no where near the same level of conditioning I used to be. I almost went to college on a scholarship, and I even had a couple options in terms of where I could go. That was me though, my team finished last in team rankings every race we entered. Except of course when the other team didn't have enough boys to compete. We loved running with each other though, we took pride in losing and still crossing the finish line with dignity. Of course, I'm being a giant tool here tooting my own horn, but the best memories weren't doing well individually, it was screwing around on all the trails we'd run.
Anyway, back to basketball land, brother's team is still going strong. They're still undefeated, and they just secured their first playoff victory. Hopefully they take the regional title for small schools. It's a smaller division, but it's really competitive at this point in the season.
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Post by Webber3000 on Feb 26, 2014 19:13:44 GMT -5
Sounds pretty sweet. I've never had a great cardio, but I've always been pretty good at team and racket sports. I just feel they're more fun than, say, plain running; it's great that you had/have the motivation to simply run and had/have fun doing so.
Moving on, I hope your brother's team wins. Pretty crazy to go undefeated all the way to the playoffs, guess they have good odds of coming out on top.
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Post by mr. excellent on Feb 28, 2014 2:16:37 GMT -5
Thanks. Yeah, I enjoy running, but I'd say my favorite sport to spectate are combat sports. I have fun with it all in general, even though I'm not the most coordinated guy out there.
Brother's team makes it to semi-finals. Hell of a game tonight. Our town is filled with a lot of unsportsmanlike hill billy's though. My poor alma mater doesn't get a lot of respect simply because it's not as old as the other two schools. Hell, the oldest high school in my home town (in Central California) is over 117 years old. Being a teacher, I try to get the kids to show respect to all local athletics and their successes, but it's frustrating when you see unsportsmanlike conduct coming from the coaching staff of neighboring schools, teachers who teach at the more historically established schools, parents of students at those schools... all setting bad examples at games. Not to say everyone is perfect where my brother goes to school, but there's a humility there from never being taken seriously that is noticeable to visitors. They comment on the atmosphere being different, which is nice.
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Post by Webber3000 on Feb 28, 2014 16:56:48 GMT -5
Yeah, it's great seeing people get invested in the sport and passionate about their teams, but part of what makes sports so great is the respectful bonds formed between teammates, opponents, and even spectators. Everyone works towards the same goal: having a great game. It's a shame to see people go wild in the negative sense over silly disagreements.
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Post by mr. excellent on Feb 28, 2014 19:39:42 GMT -5
As part of my undergraduate education, I had to read a little about the origins of "school spirit", and where similar ideas came from. It's amazing how educators used that idea as a means to get parents to support education. At the time when schools started to transform into the close predecessors of what we have today, many families were reluctant to send their children to school because they so desperately needed the kids to stay home and work. So, when governments began to shift toward industry driven economies, there was a conflict of interest. In order to persuade the populace to further educate their children, academic's (whose names currently slip my mind) concocted the idea of "school spirit". It's a fascinating story that goes much deeper than what I can even remember, or what I actually read for that matter. But yeah, sometimes I just want to drop a [poop] ton of text books on these high and mighty old coots. I think school spirit is great (it clearly serves its purpose within my profession), but the false sense of superiority that people get from it is just... eck.
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 5, 2014 4:14:44 GMT -5
Brother's team lost in a back and forth battle of skill and will. They were ahead most of the game, but were unable to clench the win in the final quarter. I tell you, for someone who is not as into sports as my fellow peers, I sure can get worked up about it all. So proud of those youngsters.
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Post by Webber3000 on Mar 5, 2014 12:08:24 GMT -5
Damn, I'm sure they gave a pretty good show, tight games are always the most exciting. Sucks they didn't win this year, but making it to the finals is still very impressive. Plus there's always next year, right? Kudos to your brother and his team!
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 6, 2014 0:37:25 GMT -5
Thanks Webbs, that's great of you to say. I'll be sure to spread that you truly are the Incarnation of Sex Appeal, and are shocked with 4979 posts of activity || Rating 3.77.
j/k
Through some sort of magic, they might get to play again. I didn't know that sort of thing happened. Usually play offs are instant elimination, but their 21 game winning streak (cut short only by yesterday's loss) might have something to do with it? They'll be playing in Sacramento or San Diego, or somewhere big if they go on.
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Post by Webber3000 on Mar 6, 2014 0:45:46 GMT -5
Much appreciated. And holy smokes! 21 wins in a row is unheard of! Or at least it is to me... Sounds pretty crazy that they're getting to play again. But what happens if they win then? Do they take the title? Must be some pretty exciting times in your town.
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Post by mr. excellent on Mar 6, 2014 3:12:08 GMT -5
If they win, then they continue to advance in the playoffs. Play off season is long, it's practically another season for the teams that make it all the way. We're talking California though, so it gets extremely competitive when you start to play private schools from Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, etc. We're just a bunch of Hoosiers out in farm land. To put the 21 game win streak in the proper context, the school is in a lower division competing against other schools with similar population/demographics. Some have complained that their season has been too easy; which of course is why they were able to get that many consecutive wins. I gotta keep it real. That being said, the team across town that is in a higher more competitive division, is heading into the valley championships, and the boys defeated them twice this year in some intense pre-season games. Talk about my run on sentences. phew! Long story short, had little bro's team been placed in a more competitive division, there's a good chance they still would've made it, just without the 21 game win streak.
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Post by Webber3000 on Mar 6, 2014 10:39:19 GMT -5
Haha, makes sense. Hopefully they'll win even if they go against big schools. Sounds more challenging and fun if you ask me; I'm sure they'll handle it very well.
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Post by brotherandbassist on Mar 27, 2014 13:28:31 GMT -5
I am highly uncoordinated and stink out loud at any physical sport imaginable, but I do enjoy watching a good basketball game. I watch college ball games with my mom a lot. We both like the Kentucky Wildcats. Does anyone have predictions for the final four? I think it will be Louisville, Michigan St, Florida, and Arizona.
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