The clock ticks down late in the second half. The team in black jerseys can’t buy a bucket, and the team with red jerseys is playing dirty pressure defense by shoving, slapping and scratching.
The referees have lost control of the game.
In reality, they lost it in the first half and are now trying to reestablish authority by blowing their whistles on nearly every play or, sometimes, not at all. Each call, obvious or not, causes a player to make a snide comment directed at the ref and another player to retort back at the original comment-maker.
It is more entertaining than reality TV. With blood pressures rising, the last 20 minutes turn into a physical showdown rather than an actual basketball game.
There’s 10 minutes remaining when a member of the red team delivers a forearm shiver to an opposing player trying to run freely through the key. Strangely, no foul is called.
The two exchange words up and down the court until the red player swishes a three-pointer and stares down the opposing bench with three fingers held out as he runs back on defense.
Then, the inevitable happens.
The black team scores a layin, which causes one player on the red team to lose his temper and pretend to throw the ball at an opponent.
Finally the referee stops play, steps in, and gives the red player a technical foul.
The opposing player, delighted that he caused such a heated reaction, motions good-bye by waving in the red team player’s face as he goes to the bench.
There’s another whistle and another technical foul on the team with black jerseys.
The game’s turned into a circus.
Sound just like another day in the NBA?
Try again.
This is from one of the University’s recreational basketball leagues, where former players and/or basketball enthusiasts alike flock to display their exaggerated skills.
This particular incident did not necessarily occur in the most competitive division either. It happened in the co-ed league.
When I signed up to join this league and another all-men’s league, I was confident that I had found a level that could accommodate my moderate skills.
But I did not have the slightest clue that these games would match the intensity of some high school games. Nearly each game I’ve witnessed has resulted in several players getting testy.
I’m guilty of it, too.
In our first game, I fouled out with 15 minutes left in the second half. That equates to one foul every five minutes, and most of those were purely out of frustration. I forgot that I was playing in a recreational league.
For anyone stepping onto the rec court in the near future you have been warned, the competition is fierce.
Don’t let the recreational title fool you: This stuff is serious.
Rec league showdowns anything but recreational
Daily Emerald
February 13, 2006
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