Before heading overseas I was told by many people I'm in for a life changing experience, and I do not doubt that. Much of it was full of positive notes on how being away from home will give me a different perspective on life, yet much of it consisted of slight slants to American's way of life and our culture. Yes we are gluttonous and, just like anywhere else in the world, some people can be rude. However, on a day like today, with an out of the country look at America, I can say that I am definitely proud to be an American. So much support and love for our own country has permeated every social media site, newspaper, and television... and not just in the good ol' US of A, but in some places in Europe as well.
Ten years ago after the attacks, one of my favorite sports columnists, Rick Reilly, wrote an article on the four men who helped take down the plane in Pennsylvania. My dad showed it to me then, and every year since he has had my sister and I read the article. Is it a great piece of writing and journalism capturing a lot of feelings from that day and the months after the attacks. In clear Rick Reilly fashion, he takes an article about sports and gives it a new meaning. I'm putting the link at the end of this post, but here is a little taste of a favorite passage of mine. Please do read the whole thing:
"At a time like this, sports are trivial. But what the best athletes can do -- keep their composure amid chaos, form a plan when all seems lost and find the guts to carry it out -- may be why the Capitol isn't a charcoal pit."
The article gives me the chills every time. I don't want to get too heavy on my thoughts about 9/11, so I'll leave it at the article, though I still truly can't believe its been 10 years.
As for my past few days here, they have been interesting. The weekend marked our first set of two-a-day sessions. I was at the gym at 9:30 both mornings and stayed until 16:00 or 17:00 at night (we do time on a 24 hour clock over here, people). In between sessions each day, we had a team meal cooked for us by one of the mothers. It was definitely a good break from the chicken and salad I have been making myself every day and night. What's really funny is, even though it is after a practice, everyone grabs a soda or carbonated beverage to drink. What ever happened to hydration? The meal was great and dessert followed which was also delicious, a plum tart pie on Saturday and cupcakes and fruit on Sunday.
Saturday post-meal, our team got together to go over team rules. What was great is, unlike any other team I've been on before where if rules are broken there is either conditioning or playing time to pay for the infraction, if you break a rule you pay. Literally, you pay your infraction in Euros. Examples: Being late to a practice, 2 Euros; forgetting a practice jersey, 2 Euros; air-balling a free throw, 5 Euros; and technical foul, 10 Euros (a steep price for saying SHOT on a fast break layup... yes that is a tech over here). Money at the end of the season goes to a team fund and we get to choose what we do with it (ie. new t-shirts or something).
A short practice followed our meeting and I was able to catch a ride with one of my teammates up to Ettlebruck where Kareem Maddox, another Princeton baller of the Class of '11, was playing. It was great to see him play and even better to catch up with him a little bit after the game. It sounded like he was in a good spot and was enjoying the season so far.
Sunday's, today's, post-meal was another fun session. Under the rock climbing wall there are soft and squishy mats that our team decided to take our hour break on. Before practice, however, we forgot to clean them up... prompting our coach to use a relay to start practice to determine who had to clean the gym after. What I thought was going to be a basketball related relay was not. The team was divided into scrimmage squads and each squad brought one of the mats onto the baseline. The relay... to run from the wall and jump on the mat sliding it across the floor one teammate at a time. The winners were the team to go full court and back on their mat. Clearly, the 'good guys' (my team) won, and we didn't have to pick up the balls after practice.
I have really been enjoying my basketball experience so far, and I can't wait to do more.
Sports can be silly and fun or serious and time consuming. Rick Reilly was right in saying "Sports are trivial in the grand scheme of things." But just as they are trivial, they provide the opportunity to learn and grow and I'm thankful I have gotten that chance, through sports, to learn and grow.
USA all the way.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/magazine/life_of_reilly/news/2001/09/19/life_of_reilly/
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