I Love This Game

Last night I watched the NBA finals with much excitement and anticipation. I am a basketball coach, so just having basketball on in June is exciting. Last night the Celtics met the Lakers in game one of the 2010 NBA finals. As the pre-game show started I had flashbacks to my childhood. I really began taking an interest to the game in the middle 80’s; about the time I was in middle school. I started thinking back to players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Kevin McHale, and Dominique Wilkins. Those were great times and great players to watch. I have always loved the Celtics, I was a Knicks fan for awhile, and even pulled for the Bad Boys-Detroit Pistons. I would never miss games on TBS and TNT every Tuesday and Thursday. I would not miss the Saturday and Sunday games on NBC. I would go out and play, then break to watch the 1st and 2nd quarters, go out and play at halftime, then catch the 3rd and 4th quarters, then play after the game was over. I have been on several different teams and played with and against several great players in my driveway. I was always a Celtic or a Knick and I always beat the Bulls or the Lakers; usually in seven games with me hitting the winning shot.
The last few years I have found myself not watching as much basketball because of two things time and cynicism. I would say things like, “It is not the same game anymore.” I had become an old timer. I had become the guy I use to get annoyed at; who was always critiquing the game and how it has changed. Well the game had changed for the good and the worse, but it is still basketball. I still love the game and the lessons taught by the game. Through the game I have learned to be a team player, to be on time, to be loyal, to be a worker, to handle defeat, and to handle success. Just because the game has changed doesn’t mean the lessons are different.
I decided to watch the game last night and to not be a critic. I wanted to enjoy the game as I did as a child. I think sometimes we forget to be child like. We get so wrapped up in being an adult we forget about the daydreaming and joy we got from childhood. Being a kid was fun. We have to find moments and times to stop being an adult and to become a kid again. I think it is good for our souls and our minds. Last night I did a little daydreaming, not from the driveway but this time from the couch. I daydreamed about playing for the Celtics again; I daydreamed about coaching the Celtics. I remembered the joy I got from the game. I am going to take more opportunities to not be critical, but see things as I did when I was a kid. I have to be an adult most of the hours of the day, but sometimes remembering what is was like to be a kid and being one again can only bring more joy to my life. So find time to do something that was good in your life as a kid growing up, watch cartoons for no reason, go swing at the park, jump on the trampoline, and play a game in the driveway. Remember however, you mind can be a kid again, but your body is still an adult. Be safe! It will take longer to recover, but what is a little soreness? Go for it!