I got a call today from someone who asked me if I had sent a basketball to Groom. In a flash I was transported ten years back....
Quarter-finals 2004, Richland Springs vs. StrawN.
We had been upset by Strawn in the 2003 semi-finals, and that loss was fresh on the minds of the Coyotes. The pain of losing that game had evolved into fear and dread in the possibility that it could happen again. To gain a psychological edge someone cooked up the idea of having someone mail us a basketball from the Strawn post office, addressed to our team with a note scribbled to the affect, "here is the ball you guys are going to need on Monday. Happy roundballing". And I think there were several other expressions included on the ball itsself. We kept the package hidden from the team until the pregame speech right before the game. A coach, not myself or Coach Dodson, pulled the box out unopened and asked several of the seniors to take a look. The boys were silent as dead mice. A pair of hands reached in and pulled out an old orange basketball...another player read the note. At that moment I looked away in an attempt to conceal my grin, When I looked back three seniors were sprinting out of the lockerroom, box and ball in hand determined to redeliver it to the Strawn locker room, personally. And they would have had we not raced out after them.
Well, the affect was that our kids turned their fear into anger and a 45 point mercy-rule victory early in the second half.
Did the trick work? Probably. Would it work again? Drive out to the Quarter-final game in Pampa and find out.
Quarter-finals 2004, Richland Springs vs. StrawN.
We had been upset by Strawn in the 2003 semi-finals, and that loss was fresh on the minds of the Coyotes. The pain of losing that game had evolved into fear and dread in the possibility that it could happen again. To gain a psychological edge someone cooked up the idea of having someone mail us a basketball from the Strawn post office, addressed to our team with a note scribbled to the affect, "here is the ball you guys are going to need on Monday. Happy roundballing". And I think there were several other expressions included on the ball itsself. We kept the package hidden from the team until the pregame speech right before the game. A coach, not myself or Coach Dodson, pulled the box out unopened and asked several of the seniors to take a look. The boys were silent as dead mice. A pair of hands reached in and pulled out an old orange basketball...another player read the note. At that moment I looked away in an attempt to conceal my grin, When I looked back three seniors were sprinting out of the lockerroom, box and ball in hand determined to redeliver it to the Strawn locker room, personally. And they would have had we not raced out after them.
Well, the affect was that our kids turned their fear into anger and a 45 point mercy-rule victory early in the second half.
Did the trick work? Probably. Would it work again? Drive out to the Quarter-final game in Pampa and find out.
