Is There Life After Basketball?

I love basketball, despite the fact that I have never been able to throw the ball through the hoop! I have tried many, many times but I fail everytime. Either the ball is too heavy, or the rim is too high or the fact that I can only jump one inch off the ground, when standing still. Any one of these things or a combination of all of them prevent me from shooting a basket! I could do better at football than basketball.

However! I love basketball! I took every opportunity to watch the game whenever I could. When we lived in Ohio, we lived within walking distance of Wittenberg Univ. and they had a good team. The school was very small and it was easy to get tickets.  Ohio is more known for its football but we could watch our share of basketball since we were so close to the school.

There are not nearly as many hoops nailed to garage doors in Ohio as there are in Kentucky. Still there were enough that the sound of the basket ball hitting the cement was very recognnizable. (It sounded like my heart beating.)Maybe that's why I love the game.In the fall of the year I listen for the familiar sound as the kids walk back and forth to school, bouncing  the ball. Grade school, Jr. high and high school, YMCAs and other organizations have teams. If a child happens to be taller than his classmates, he's frequently asked, "Do you play basketball.?" We had a very attractive girl in our eighth grade class one year, she was at least five foot ten and she hated to be asked that question. "Do you play basketball?"  She finally came up with the perfect answer,"No!", she would say, "Do you play miniture golf?"

Most colleges have teams and they belong to different leagues. The Big Ten, The Big East, etc. then at the end of the season The NCAA chooses the top teams in the country to play for the championship.There is also another group that chooses teams that are good but not quite as good as the NCAA teams. NIT, national invitational tournament.

March Madness this year is especially interesting for us because the Louisville Cardinals were the No. 1 pick and have worked their way up to the top rung of the ladder. Tonight they will be playing Michigan and which ever one wins will be the Champions. Our fingers are crossed, eyes, also. I'm going to say Ciao right now because I don't want to jinx them. GO CARDS