Basketball is probably the best sport out there, let’s be honest. So being a hooper is a one of a kind experience, and there are certain things that we go through that people who don’t hoop just don’t understand. Here are nine things that every hooper can relate to:
1. There is no such thing as having pretty legs.
Floor burns, bruises, and scars are unavoidable. Basketball is an extremely physical sport and therefore, you always come out of a game with a battle scar. If you don’t have some form of an injury after a game, that means you didn’t play hard enough.
2. "Get on the line” is pretty much a death threat.
Every hooper dreads hearing these four words from their coach. This means it’s time to run a suicide. Suicides are the absolute worst, and usually, if the whole team doesn’t finish in a certain amount of time, Coach makes you run another one until every player on the team makes it within the set time.
3. 24 Hour Fitness is your second home.
On the weekend and the days that you don’t have practice, you go to 24 to work on your game and play pickup games. For some reason, us hoopers find ourselves at the gym way too often, and usually for hours and hours at a time. We basically live at the gym.
4. What is a social life?
“No, sorry. I can’t hang out tonight I have practice.” Ughhhhh! We can never go out with our friends because we always have practice. The term BALLISLIFE could not be a more accurate statement. Basketball consumes our entire life and we basically don’t have time for anything else.5. Don't get crossed.
If you get crossed, you should just pack up your bag and never come back. This is by far the most embarrassing thing that could happen to you. Someone crossing you over and you stumbling, or even worse, falling….. yikes.
6. Your closet is consumed with more socks and t-shirts than actual clothes.
The amount of Nike socks that we own is insane. We have at least two pairs in every color. Also, all we pwn is t-shirts. Every tournament we play in, we get another t-shirt to add to our collection
7. The hotel breakfast…
Every hooper knows the struggle of the hotel breakfast. During travel tournaments, Coach would tell everyone to be downstairs at a certain time for breakfast. Oatmeal, muffins, bacon, eggs, sausage, and, if you’re lucky, sometimes pancakes or waffles. The quality of the food is never all the great, but we eat it because we have to.
8. Missing a clutch free throw is the most depressing mistake a person can make.
This is probably the worst feeling. When there're only a few seconds left in the game and your team is down and you get fouled, you have to shoot free throws. Your entire team and the whole crowd is depending on you to make these shots. It is so much pressure, If you make them, it’s an amazing feeling, but god forbid you miss, it's the worst feeling in the world.
9. Your teammates become your best friends.
We are together basically 100 percent of the time, so you learn to love your team like your second family. The bonds that you form with your teammates can last forever. It is important to have these people as your best friends because it helps you play better together on the court.
