ANNNNNyway…

On to the basketball game on Saturday. As you recall, it is Boy, Tiny Girl, and me, with a free ticket courtesy of BSC’s coach Duane Reboul. Apparently a sort of goodwill gesture given to the elementary school as thanks for providing part of the halftime show. The intermediate school (3rd-6th grade) has a juggling team--a big group of hyperactive kids with excellent eye-hand coordination, and they do performances at stuff like this. So, some free tickets for everyone. Seems to have helped--according to this story, the 1,381 fans present were the largest home crowd of the season, only about 600 shy of capacity.

After we got there and parked, we got right in and found the restrooms so Cat could go mark her territory, and then went and got our seats. Since we got there early, we got a prime set of seats on the second row behind the benches, midcourt. Bill Battle Coliseum is a very nice arena, by the way.

We sat and I answered questions about how long it was going to be before they got started, and we went to the restroom again, and then finally the guys came out and started warming up. Oddest thing was the number of furriners on the roster--two Lithuanians, two Icelanders, a Belarussian, and even a guy from White Castle, Louisiana! (The situation’s a bit different on the women’s side--their first foreign player is this lanky Czech girl.)

As for the game, wow. Charleston-Southern was the league leader coming into the game, but they certainly got handled. BSC's defense was stout, and C-S couldn't even buy a trey. They tied things up at the half, but after that the second period was just a blowout for BSC. Good job, guys. The only odd thing, since I never go to basketball games, was the number of media time outs. Must have been more than a dozen every half. Seems a bit excessive.

NOW, as for the halftime show--first the BSC dance team, who were all tiny gamines who looked more like art school waifs than your average set of Laker Girls, then the juggling kids from the elementary school. Wow. They’re good! Lots of action and lots of obvious work went into the routine. Then, a dance team from a local elementary school, notable in my mind for both the lewdness of their routine and the utter lack of coordination between the members. Hey, mamas and daddies--these are little elementary school girls. (Although “little” might not be completely accurate--there was one child who looked nearly as big as me, and who seemed to take great joy in shaking her naked round belly at the crowd.) The skimpy costumes and repeated pelvic thrusts and chest shaking is just a bit much. Or maybe it's just me. Aside from that aspect, you know, if you’re their coach, and you’re going to make them get out there and act like pole dancers, can you at least get them to work together and in time with the music?! Sorry, folks-whose-kids-those-were, but that was awful. The last act was yet another elementary school juggling team, and although I might be accused of favoritism toward our hometown kids, frankly the second group just weren’t as good, even with the addition of a jump rope corps.

Another trip to the restroom after all of that, and then the second half, then time to head home and see if Mom and the other girls ever got there. BUT FIRST, a stop at the tee-shirt table. They’d been pleading for one ever since we walked in the door, and I figure it’s a nice keepsake. Catherine got a white one, and Jonathan got one in gold, both with the logo. I took their picture holding them up beside the coliseum sign, and then again on the big metal sculpture. They seemed quite pleased with themselves.

Jonathan wore his to school yesterday, and Catherine has been sleeping in hers. She probably would have taken it off and saved it to wear to school, too, but she spilled some of her drink on it at supper. Oh, well.

To home, everyone back together, debrief the stay at the church building which turned out to be about as I had expected it would be, supper, then everyone into bed, then up again Sunday.

Breakfast, church, after-church preteen group get-together at the building that required me to make a quick run to…

WAL-MART! HOORAY!

Got a cake, some peanut brittle, and a 3-liter Diet Coke (the former items for the kids, the latter item for me) and ran as fast as my tiny legs could carry me to the checkout. Because I was in hurry to get back, you know.

NEXT: The Fallacy of Speedy Self-Service Checkout.
posted by Terry at 9:22:00 AM