Another first! My first live basketball game. But first you have to get through the car park which, because tomorrow is the last home game of the football season, is full of huge trailers. Now think caravan and then multiply it and add a long distance coach and you get somewhere close to the size of these things! People have come for the game tomorrow and brought with them outdoor seating, tables, BBQs, wood burning fires, play pens, kids toys, satellite dishes for the TVs and even rugs and a large square of 'lawn'. It was very difficult in the dark to get a photo, but there's a woman sitting outside watching TV which is on the outside of the van…and there are two more huge screens inside. I've heard that some people drive to College Station for the football and sit and watch it on their outdoor TVs because they don't have tickets!
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| The player in white on the left is from Ipswich! |
Like many sports there seems to be relatively little continuous play and a lot of 'time out', high fives,
repositioning, and breaks. During the breaks the student band strikes up vigorously. The dancing girls come out and perform. Young boys run out with cloths and wipe up the sweat from around the basket. During play the students at each end stand and, choreographed by cheer leaders (men), they run through a complex series of gestures, grunts, drones and slogans that are designed to encourage their side and discourage the opponents by turn. Then there's the sudden wave of popcorn aroma as a family of father and three small kids all walk past with a bucketful each! All in all, never a dull moment and a great spectacle.
Of course I could write a whole post on what I think of girls in sequinned tops gyrating and leaping and tossing their long blond hair. What sort of messages are you sending out girls about your bodies, your minds, your self-esteem, your worth…don't get me started!
Oh, and we won!
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