I am really glad there isn't much video evidence of my basketball playing days. I'm sure some AV kid could dig through the archives at Mountain View to find tapes from the glory years when the Lady Cougars' varsity squad won two, maybe three games a season, but I think it's pretty safe to say no one will do that.
If they posted said videos on Youtube, you'd catch me rolling my eyes at referees, complaining about calls, maybe giving an occasional extra shove after a foul... and I was playing basketball in a small town for a team that rarely won. My stakes were so incredibly low that I can't imagine how my emotions could have gotten away from me on a larger stage.
So when I see athletes react in the heat of competition, in a big college game or playing in a playoff game at the professional level, I love it. I love seeing the raw emotion of competition on display. I understand Marcus Smart pushing a fan in the stands this past weekend, and Richard Sherman's impassioned post-game smack talking. I doubt either of them see this as one of their finest moments, but I can relate to their responses.
But as women's basketball rolls back around, this emotional moment by Shoni Schimmel upsetting Baylor in the Sweet 16 is one of my favorites.
She says after that shot she got up and asked Brittney Griner about the weather. I've written about Shoni before. Girl can ball and, Mountain View AV students, you can just toss those videos.
awesome! I was the player with the "game face" but now I see and understand...those players aren't nearly as fun to watch
ReplyDeleteUh, you were extremely fun to watch, Kiko! Your intensity was incredible.
DeleteYou were both fun to watch, as was Shonni in MV's gym. Too bad you weren't around to watch her in her IMC days! Yukiko did you catch her in Portland? Apparently it was worth the price of admission to watch her mom/coach and team at halftime. Elayne
ReplyDeleteI bet, Elayne! I didn't hear about Shoni until after she left for Louisville and Kiko was in China at the time so we missed her there too. From the Rez Ball documentary the mom-daughter, coach-daughter dynamic looked pretty intense.
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