Peace. Love. Basketball.
I fell in love at the age of 13. To everyone's dismay, the love of my life was basketball. I'll admit, in the early years my obsession with the game was slightly unhealthy ... practice always came first (for the most part), and I would frequently be up half the night watching the one weekly NBA game that was broadcasted in India. Over time, the obessession evened out, but even when I walked away at 19 - there was still a bit of baller-lunacy left in me. Last year, that lunatic raised its ugly head in the DC-sisters basketball tournament - and reeled around again this past weekend.
I love this tournament more than I can ever express - its super awesome for a number of reasons.
One, I get to play alongside and against some of my some of my closest friends without the complications of the usual competitiveness that I have been used to. Lemme just say that in the past, friendships were made and broken over basketball - and I'm thrilled to say thats not the case here.
Two, I get to play. There's a rush in being able to control an inanimate object and to make things happen - poetry in motion I call it. Its one thing to be able to do it, and its entirely another to watch it happen right before your eyes. Its especially exhilerating when your opponent sweeps past you in with a particularly sweet step, displaying incredible skill.
The third reason I love this tournament so much is the fact that I get to play with and against women that have skills beyond anyone's imagination ... if you saw them on the street, you'd never believe that they were ballers, and ballers with alot of heart to boot. Strong, practicing Muslim women coming together to express a love for a sport that some people might think is incompatible with the lifestyle they lead. Goes to show that you can never judge a book by its cover. I wish that everyone had the opportunity to see these women for who they are, and for the skills that they have and not just brush them aside as being "oppressed" or subservient because of the choices they have made. But then again, I'm the lucky one that gets to see that side ... the one that knows that they're not the "golf and tennis" type. Maybe we'll get to show off some of our moves during Hoop-it-up this summer.
Who knows, we may be able to get this thing to grow beyond just the DC-area ... we've got some inspiration here.
Shoutouts to the baller-crew (this is not an exclusive list by ANY MEANS) - the Hoya's - Big D, Dr. J, Aly-oop and the "wall" ... the mason-muslimah - Lina and Hanaa the "rainmakers", Nadios, Aisha "the secret weapon"and Romana "kryptonite" and the newest additions to the crew - the VCU team (who honestly played w/the most heart!) and their fearless leader DEWY, aka "#31"!
I love this tournament more than I can ever express - its super awesome for a number of reasons.
One, I get to play alongside and against some of my some of my closest friends without the complications of the usual competitiveness that I have been used to. Lemme just say that in the past, friendships were made and broken over basketball - and I'm thrilled to say thats not the case here.
Two, I get to play. There's a rush in being able to control an inanimate object and to make things happen - poetry in motion I call it. Its one thing to be able to do it, and its entirely another to watch it happen right before your eyes. Its especially exhilerating when your opponent sweeps past you in with a particularly sweet step, displaying incredible skill.
The third reason I love this tournament so much is the fact that I get to play with and against women that have skills beyond anyone's imagination ... if you saw them on the street, you'd never believe that they were ballers, and ballers with alot of heart to boot. Strong, practicing Muslim women coming together to express a love for a sport that some people might think is incompatible with the lifestyle they lead. Goes to show that you can never judge a book by its cover. I wish that everyone had the opportunity to see these women for who they are, and for the skills that they have and not just brush them aside as being "oppressed" or subservient because of the choices they have made. But then again, I'm the lucky one that gets to see that side ... the one that knows that they're not the "golf and tennis" type. Maybe we'll get to show off some of our moves during Hoop-it-up this summer.
Who knows, we may be able to get this thing to grow beyond just the DC-area ... we've got some inspiration here.
Shoutouts to the baller-crew (this is not an exclusive list by ANY MEANS) - the Hoya's - Big D, Dr. J, Aly-oop and the "wall" ... the mason-muslimah - Lina and Hanaa the "rainmakers", Nadios, Aisha "the secret weapon"and Romana "kryptonite" and the newest additions to the crew - the VCU team (who honestly played w/the most heart!) and their fearless leader DEWY, aka "#31"!
posted by zai5h at Tuesday, April 11, 2006
2 Comments:
well i can honestly say that when i read this it felt like the words were taken out of my thoughts! (and i'm sure the percentage of those who feel that way goes way down on this post, lol) here's a shout-out to all the
ballers in "tennis and golf" disguise ;)
Z UR MY HERO!!! cant wait till next year girls...
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