Your Actions Speak Louder Than Words.....And Sometimes They Say The Wrong Things!

As with most Saturdays, I met up with some guy friends for some pick up basketball.  We had 8 guys and so we engaged in some 4-on-4 half court action.  My team was struggling lost the first three games.  At some point during the fourth game, I noticed one of the other guys was being a little aggressive with me.   After some more action, it became obvious something had set the guy off.

After playing the fourth game and the fifth game and calling it quits as it was getting late,  I talked to the other guy.  The other guy expressed his opinion that I was being too aggressive and physical and he got pissed.   There was some question about a play where I came down with my elbows on him.  Some people questioned whether it was intentional or not.  I personally did not think so but I can't argue the action that was done.

This post isn't to defend myself.  It was an interesting experience to go through and learn from.  Here's why:

No matter what we do (whether it's basketball or other things), there are times where people interpret actions differently than you envisioned.   The biggest lesson here is not to get defensive and LISTEN.  As hard as it is to do, there is a teaching moment for everyone.  We all do things out of habit and reflexively.  Maybe out of habit, I did a few of the things I was told.  I don't know if it's usually a problem but obviously it was today.  We talked about things like men, I apologized and we'll all move on.

On the other hand, I've also been on the receiving end of a few things.  For example, during my spring basketball league, I was being guarded by a young 20-something kid.  I had scored 20 points the game before against other team.  The young kid was assigned to pester me and throw me off my game.

Well, it must have succeeded as I had a crappy game.  But at one point, I got frustrated because the young kid was hand checking and hip checking me throughout.  At one point, I told him to stop or I would start hitting back a little bit.  Now, I knew the young kid and he doesn't do these things intentionally.  We were cool after the game as well.  In the heat of the moment, you obviously say or do things that come off the wrong way.

Basketball is just a game and we shouldn't take it too seriously.    Of course, there is always pride involved and sometimes competition brings out the worst in us.

Equal Opportunity Championships

Recently, both of my spring adult league basketball teams won their respective league championships.  I wasn't really expecting this to happen so it was a pleasant surprise.  In total, I have played on EIGHT teams that have championships over the years.

In winning the championships, I updated a picture collage to reflect the two championship teams I was part of this season.  A friend of mine commented that "I was the Robert Horry of recreation basketball".

I know the friend was joking around but this got me to thinking about something.  Unlike the NBA (or other professional basketball leagues), recreational basketball leagues get plenty of chances to win league and/or tournament championships throughout the year.  NBA players get ONE chance to win each season.  If they don't win, they have to wait until next season.

For me, winning two championships in the span of a week is a first and a pretty rare thing for me.  All of my previous championships were very spread out.  But there are players that play in many leagues that could win multiple championships like I did.

My main point is that my eight championships isn't really all that unusual in recreation basketball.  There are just so many leagues / tournaments that you could win more "championships" in one year than some NBA players get in their careers.

All of this being said, sometimes the pursuit of a recreation basketball league or tournament championship can cause players to act irrationally.  They get frustrated at teammates, referees or their own play.   I hope to encourage players to remember a few things:

If you don't win this season, another season is around the corner pretty quickly.  You'll get another opportunity again very quickly.

Even if you win, you are not winning a "ring" like professional players.  If you're lucky, you'll get a t-shirt.  If you're REALLY LUCKY, the organizers might give you a team award or even individual awards.  For me, out of my eight championship teams, I have one t-shirt that reflects me winning anything.  The rest are just photos that I took.

Lastly, never compare your experience to others.  I've got a lot of differing memories of my various championships.  Some of them are hugely positive and some of them are not so positive.    However, if you're only won one championship and the experience was a super great one, then more power to you. No point in comparing yourself to someone else who has more.

Winning With Grace & Class

The Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets played in an NBA game tonight in Houston.   I was interested in the game because of Jeremy Lin.  When Linsanity occurred last season,  Lin did not get a chance to play the Warriors.  Tonight was the first time Lin faced his former hometown team as a starter.

The Rockets simply outplayed the Warriors and won 140-109.  Lin had a great game with 28 points and 9 assists.  But what got a lot of fans up in arms on both sides was the actions by both the Warriors and the Rockets.

The Rockets were shooting great all night and tied an NBA record by making 23 three pointers.   The Rockets were going for 24 but missed a few shots late in the game.  Before they got another opportunity to attempt another shot, one of their players drove in, dunked the ball and then showboated a bit.  The officials gave the Rockets player a technical.

From then on, the Warriors were very displeased.  One of the Warriors players was given a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected for trying to stop a Rockets player from shooting a three pointer.  The Warriors were then instructed to foul the Rockets before they could even attempt a three pointer.  Ultimately, the Rockets did not get an opportunity to make a 24th three pointer.

In my opinion, running up the score or having some fun at the expense of a team down 30 is a no-no. The losing team is already upset and rubbing things in does nothing to improve the situation.  While Rockets fans were calling the Warriors classless, I respectfully disagree.

My opinion is that if you have a game won, win it with some class and grace.  After all, it doesn't matter if you win a game by 1, 10, 30 or 100 points.  It's still one win.  It doesn't matter if you get your team in the record books.  It's still one win.  All records are ultimately going to be broken anyway.

I've been on all sides when it comes to these types of games.   I've coached, played and officiated blowout games.  The feeling is not good for the losing team.  If you've never been on the side of a team losing by a lot, it's a feeling you don't WANT to feel.  But if you have felt it, then you understand why you never want another team to feel the same way.

I hope all teams (professional or otherwise) takes some lessons.  One day, you or your team will get beat by a lot and then you'll understand.