Sunday January 28th, 2018

I have always liked Basketball more than any other sport save martial arts and Bball is by far the best sport to watch. Yesterday was an historic moment, a day I put on my calendar as the first day i went to see a basketball game live in person.

I saw the game at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, it was Texas Longhorns V Ole Miss. And true to their name Mississippi missed more shots than they scored.

I first got into basketball when I was in NYC watching the 2008 Summer Olympics. Team USA defeated Spain 118–107 in the gold medal game on August 24, 2008. America won its first gold medal in a worldwide competition since the 2000 Olympics. 

This was an historic moment and I remember it well. Jersey City, New Jersey is where I was staying while visiting Manhattan everyday and other parts of New York City. I discovered Broadway, and saw a Tale of 2 Cities. I remember taking the Path Train every day into the Big Apple, and walking with thousands of people even simply through one alleyway, that’s how densely packed the population is.

Couchsurfing is a network where you can sleep on other people’s couches, sometimes bedrooms, for free as part of a cultural exchange across the world. I used this network to travel to many states, and I was staying in an apartment near the center of Jersey City at the time. I’ll never forget that game. 

 

Kobe Bryant was a beast on the court, scoring 20 points, 6 assists, and at more than one point he grabbed the ball and ran so fast to Spain’s basket that Kobe was literally alone scoring 3 pointers like free throws in the middle of the game.

I knew basketball was my sport of choice after that game.

January 27th 2018, the Longhorns played well. It was a memorable moment when I first walked into the Frank Erwin Center to see my first live game:

As I walked towards my seats, I marveled at the whole environment. The vendors selling hotdogs, cotton candy and beer. The people wearing their favorite player’s jersey and a sea of orange Ts representing UT Longhorns. The framed photos on the wall told a story that was still being written about the games the Erwin Center hosted:

Dylan Osetkowski scored many 2 point shots, and lay ups, with a number of free throws from Ole Miss fouls.

Dylan had an in your face energy and a drive to win that we could all feel from the bleachers. Early on he got several free throws in:

AIRBALL! 


The band played interesting tunes, almost ragtime at moments:


What happened to real cheerleading? The pepsquad took center stage most of the time and didn’t have any real dance moves aside from standing still and shaking their pom poms back and forth. I was disappointed and felt the Longhorns need to fire their dance choreographer.


In the rare moments we got to see actual cheerleaders, they were true to form. 

Watching cheerleaders doing backflips across the court was all part of the magic.

Being there for the moments Mo Bamba got the rebound shots was really nice.

Mo Bamba’s reach is incredible to watch:



 

Coach Shaka changed strategies to a full court press this allowed Mo Bamba to shine

 

 

 

 

And if there were any players with star potential it’s no surprise my #1 draft pick goes to Longhorns Center Mo Bamba who scored 25 points and 15 rebounds with an honorable mention to Dylan Osetkowski.   

Mo Bamba helped turned the tide mid game with his impressive 7 foot 9 inch wingspan controlling the interior. It seemed like the refs were purposefully trying to foul Bamba to get him out of the game.

And yet, despite it all, the Longhorns brought home a decisive victory

1st live basketball game verdict: success.
I took one last look at the court before exiting, thinking, “This was great.”