Personal Narrative: The Sport Of Basketball

When you think of basketball you think of a pretty simple sport. The game has its sets of formal rules and regulations that are governed by the AAA, NCAA and NBA. No matter what level you play, the game will be relatively the same. In a formal game or even just a pick up game in a gym, the game is the same. That’s not the case with pick up basketball at a city park though. Depending where you live, every court has its own guidelines. You wouldn’t think that a game of basketball could change so drastically but it can. Park pick up ball is rougher, less honest, gets done faster but has a much slower pace. Park ball isn’t even really about basketball; it’s about feeling apart of something, feeling young and feeding your ego. I had originally believed that basketball was basketball and that it didn’t matter where you played it because of the rules of the game. I figured that at the park, it was just a

Superior over other members is gained from the sense of winning. A game was described to me by one of the park social members by “playing 1’s and 2’s”. A regular basketball game is played in 3’s, 2’s and 1’s, meaning that a three pointer is worth 3, every other shot is worth 2 and a free throw is worth 1. In the park games, there are no free throws because when a foul is made, the person who made the foul is supposed to be honest and call it themselves. This usually doesn’t happen because that gives the other team the ball. Arguments are a very come aspect during the game he explained. When one team finally wins, that winning team stays on the court and a new team plays the winning team. Many times there is one team who has a better skill level and they can stay on the court for the duration of games. While one game is in session, a team captain from a different team can call “next” and they will the play the winner of the game going on. This cycle continues until there are not enough players to