Dear_Basketball

Dear Basketball Dear Basketball, It’s been almost 28 years since the first day we met. 28 years since I saw you in the back of our garage. 28 years since my parents introduced us. If someone would have told me then, what would become of us, I’m not sure I would have believed them. I barely remembered your name. Then I started seeing you around the neighborhood and watching you on television. I used to see you with guys down at the playground. But when my older brother started paying more attention to you, I started to wonder. Maybe you were different. We hung out a few times. The more I got to know you, the more I liked you. And as life would have it, when I finally got really interested in you, when I was finally ready to get serious, you left me off the varsity. You told me I wasn’t good enough. I was crushed. I was hurt. I think I even cried. Then I wanted you more than ever. So I practiced. I hustled. I worked on my game. Passing. Dribbling. Shooting. Thinking. I ran. I did sit-ups. I did push-ups. I did pull-ups. I lifted weights. I studied you. I began to thank, coach, you’re, love, know, just, game, you’ve, since, become, sure, started, smith, everything, before, around, years, world, wasn’t, told, teaching, say, relationship, players, one, now, name, life, least, last, i’m, finally, fan, ever, basketball