Basketball + Summer = Fun

For the B5 Media Sports Channel Group Post this month, the theme is Summer Fun.

If there was one sport I could play every day of my life, it would be basketball. I’ve loved basketball since the days Michael Jordan dunked from the free throw line, Magic Johnson passed the ball right while looking left, and Larry Bird could basically hit the bottom of the net from anywhere on the court. I grew up playing basketball with my brothers and their friends on the playground, played on my high school team, and spent my summers at numerous basketball camps. And whenever the Gus Macker three-on-three tournament came to town, I was always ready and willing to participate.

The Gus Macker is a national three-on-three basketball tournament that visits numerous cities throughout the country. Of course, as I’ve gotten older and lost a few quick steps here and there, I haven’t been able to play basketball as often as I would like. My brothers have since moved away, with one residing in Atlanta and the other in Boston. This past winter we toyed with the idea of playing in the Gus Macker tournament as a family when it came through Buffalo. At the end of June, that idea became a reality.

Four people were needed for a team with three players on the court at a time and one sub. Both of my brothers and I recruited another childhood friend of ours to form the ever-impressive entourage, the “Darc Angels.” My sister-in-law even made us T-shirts bearing the name. We registered as a co-ed team but there were so few co-ed teams entered, we were put into a bracket with only male players. To say that I wasn’t a bit intimidated would be a complete lie. Sure, I grew up playing against boys. But these were no longer boys; these were big, sweaty guys, some beer-bellied and some ripped like Rambo, and all were unwilling to cut a female player any slack.

The two-day tournament began on a Saturday. The New Era Cap Company, a sponsor of the tournament, provided registration services at their Flagship Store in downtown Buffalo. Our designated court was off the main drag on a side street, which was ideal because there weren’t crowds of people walking on either side of us. We were, as they say, off the beaten path. Our bracket consisted of players of the same skill level, which is how each bracket is determined. Sixteen teams were playing for the coveted Gus Macker first place trophy and brand-new New Era baseball caps.

We arrived at our court early on Saturday to warm up a bit. Some games started as early as 8 a.m. Luckily, our first game was scheduled for 11 a.m. Since we were playing in an all-male bracket, I was forced to use a men’s basketball. It weighs a tad bit more than a female ball, so I knew I’d have to put a little more muscle behind my shot. Each game was played to 15 by ones, with two point shots counting from beyond a line of red-and-yellow tape. Games were also limited to a half hour to keep the tournament on schedule.

Our first game was an easy win. There was a dapper-looking fellow who happened to be shorter than me — and I’m only 5’3”! I guarded him and was able to take the ball to the net more than a few times. After a short shooting drought, I scored the first basket for our team. We cruised after that, making most of our shots and advanced to the next game later that day. Again, I was able to guard a player on the opposite team who happened to be my size. We beat them soundly, and advanced to our third game of the day.

By then we had been out in the sun all afternoon and were exhausted. The last game was extremely physical and I found myself getting bounced around the court as easily as the ball. Each player was taller than me and when I’d put up a shot, the ball was simply swatted out of my hands. We exchanged baskets back and forth for a while. But, with 10 seconds left to play and the score tied, our fourth player (a childhood friend) hit the game-winning shot from behind the two-point line and we ended up with an undefeated record for the day.

On Sunday, we arrived for our first game hoping to carry forth the same magic that had ended the previous day. Unfortunately, there weren’t any more rabbits to pull out of our hats. Our shots were off the mark and the physical play from the day before had tired us all out. We reached third place, with only two other teams left to fight it out for the championship. But they were bigger and more aggressive, and every shot they put up seem to have a beacon guiding it directly into the bottom of the net. We lost two games in a row, and in a double elimination tournament that’s enough to knock you out.

Though the Darc Angles didn’t take home first place, we did end up with the third place title. They even gave us bronze trophies! Overall, it was a fun-filled tournament. Every team we played against exhibited good sportsmanship and I was treated with respect as the only female on the court.

I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Gus Macker and was happy to spend two full days playing nothing but basketball. It was also a great opportunity for me to interact with my family, because it brought us together to play a sport we all love and enjoy. We not only played as a family, we played as a team. And it didn’t hurt that we walked away with a trophy either. Maybe next year we’ll take first place and win a couple of New Era baseball caps.

Now that’s what I call “Summer Fun!”