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The Sport Of The Basketball Player Essay

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I absolutely love to spend hours on top of hours throwing spherical objects into a raised hoop possessing an 18-inch diameter, only to retrieve said object, force it to the ground repeatedly, and throw it at the hoop once again. To someone dumbfounded by the idea of the previous sentence, this activity is quite bizarre and pointless, but to someone like me, it’s a lifestyle. It’s tradition. It’s second nature. Being a black, Metro Detroit child of born of two parents who were both from inner cities, one could guess that the laws of this world destined me to invest the majority of my young life into one of the world’s many sports, most likely basketball or football. Although one would be stereotyping, one would be right. For the first 17 years of my being, I lived and breathed the sport of basketball; I knew the rules of the game, I knew the rules of the court, and I knew what it takes to be a “respected” basketball player. Now that I’ve unofficially hung up my jersey and stepped away from the game (for the now at least!), I’ve had the chance to take a step back and truly contemplate the overall essence of the sport of basketball in America, more specifically friendly pick-up games. Every game, from card games to Olympic sports, have their own set of rules, but they aren’t all approached with the same underlying attitude. Why is there an overall mood of intensity and toughness during pick-up games which have such low stakes? How do players already know the procedures

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