With the Nova Nation looming at my back last Saturday, I happily played the unbiased journalist in the press box and hid my Georgetown T-shirt under a neutral sweater. Down by double digits early and grossly outnumbered, I wasn’t about to be a hero. But as Jesse Sapp let fly from 60 feet at the first-half buzzer and found nothing but net, I leapt out of my seat without thinking and exposed my allegiance to the hundreds of Wildcats behind me.
That three-point prayer turned out to be the difference in the game, but my favorite moment came during the post-game press conference. When asked about the shot, Sapp claimed that it wasn’t luck, but that he and teammate Jeff Green practice similar half-court shots every day at practice, screaming “Gilbert Arenas!” with every toss.
I was floored. Just the day before I had been jumping around Yates shooting from all over the court and screaming “Gilbert!” or “Hibachi!” I didn’t do it in a Georgetown uniform, no one was really watching and the rare successes I had didn’t really count for anything, but it is comforting to know that I’m not alone.
Every time I take the court I am reminded why it is that Roy, Jeff and John that represent our school and not me and my friends, but I still look forward to intramural basketball all week. I don’t have a lot in common with any of the varsity players, at least from a basketball standpoint. I can’t jump very high, my shot hits the back-iron more often than not, and I’m not even six feet tall, but next time I’m at the gym throwing up ridiculous shots and pretending to be someone else, it won’t feel nearly as weird.
Players of all levels can find their own niche on campus. Yates Field House offers multiple skill levels of intramural basketball, and pick-up games are always easy to find.
On Tuesday night, my intramural basketball team suffered its third straight loss (out of three total games). But as the final seconds of the first half ticked down, one of my teammates threw up a shot from half-court and yelled “Jesse Sapp!”— he hit nothing but net.
