Sidelines
THEY stood, balloons shaking, squeaking, squealing somewhere in that wall of noise. They stomped, they whistled, they screamed, banging the metal railing in the front row up and down, and in the middle of it all, one man, one man standing out by the look on his face in a sea of sound, could only throw his head back and grin, losing himself in the feeling of the moment. It’s finally time
for basketballRiley Wallace scowled. Steve Fisher screamed. Everyone scrambled in the final seconds, and then the ball bounced and the buzzer sounded and San Diego State had escaped. Wow. Sloppy excitement at its best.
You forget. You forget how much you love basketball. It happens every season, and so much more so this year, when Hawaii dropped BYU like a bag of dirt, running it up on a rival and overcelebrating into a magical afternoon, and then the cry went up to keep the football coming.
And your first basketball game of the season is always a shock almost, a revelation, a reawakening, a pleasant surprise. It all floods back at once, and you remember, Yes, I love this game too. Wow. Wow, it hits you. New love, all over again.
My first basketball game of the season was last night.
Why not, with Savo's first game back and a Mountain West team in the house. A 6-1 cupcake start was just warming up, football was officially out of the way, and now basketball really was ready to begin. It was perfect.
It takes some time to work your way back into basketball shape. For them. For you. For us. For me. Kim Willoughby is finding out a little about that firsthand.
But some of you weren't quite ready yet, it seems, with the top ring nearly open at the Stan Sheriff Center despite the first big game of the year. It's understandable. It takes that first step. It still feels like football season, and it takes at least a game in person to get it out of your system, to replace your Rolo with a little Savo. As I watched Carl English play, I couldn't help thinking of Ashley Lelie. (Must be the hair.)
And it was gray and rainy and traffic was bad and the game was on TV, and your first basketball game, the one to make you fall in love again, was going to wait, at least for now.
Fine.
But at the game you can hear the sneakers squeak again, live and in person for the first time of the year. You can hear the smack! as Bob Nash -- Bob Nash, Mr. Rainbow, he's been back with the team for 20 years -- high fives his guys. You can feel the band play. Somehow layups and horns just go together on winter nights.
It's cool and dry and there's garlic in the air.
And the Hawaii warm-up tops say "BOWS."
And there are fans with senses of humor, who want a foul for "Bad attitude by the Aztecs!" And say, "Walton, that was HORR-ible!"
Savo's jumper needed work, but his "Rodman Flop" was in midseason form.
Don't wait too long. Television is great for basketball later in the year, when you've already caught the fever. But you need the context first. It's time to fall in love again.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com