On the court I see the countdown on the clock that has big, bright orange numbers.  The numbers were counting down the time that we had left to play our final basketball game to take 1st place. The numbers blink 9:36…9:35…9:34…9:33 to the point that I can’t realize that my team is down by 18 points.  I’ve never lost a game in my life and the feeling is unbearable because it is as if we are going to lose.

The big scoreboard reads: Home- 20 and Visitors- 38.  The scoreboard isn’t the only distraction, but my friends and family are watching.  I don’t know if I’m embarrassed, ashamed, or overwhelmed.  I try to concentrate on the most important thing to me right now which is winning and taking my trophy home.  I don’t want the red trophy because it stands for 2nd place or a ribbon because it stands for 3rd place.  I want the blue one.  

As all of these thoughts are running through my head, I can hear shoes squeak on the floor.  I’m like a robot, and I can’t concentrate.  As I look back at the clock, the big bright, orange lights read 7:48, and while I’ve been away in a daze with a thousand thoughts with the smell of leather basketballs and popcorn in my nose, we have scored a total of two points.  Once I realize the game is partially over, my body starts to shake, sweat drips, and I honestly can’t realize that this is the last quarter, and we are down by 16 points.  After a lot of thinking, I score my first basket with a foul.  Since I made my shot and got fouled, my team, which is called Hotshots, receives two points, and I will get to step on the free throw line to make a basket.  If the basket goes in, we will receive one point.  If not, the game continues on.  I step on the free throw line to make my extra point, and it goes in.  With excitement, the crowd stands up, claps, screams and cheers us on.

Now we’re down by 13 points.  The other team, named the Trojans has the basketball, and they try to score by penetrating through our defense, but I steal the ball that drips with sweat out of the opponent’s hand, and run down the court for another lay-up, which goes in, and I get fouled again.  I go back to the free throw line, wipe the wetness off the basketball, bend my knees, bounce it up and down, look at the rim and throw it up in the air towards my target, and the basketball goes in.  Now we’re down by 10 points, and the clock that blinks bright orange reads 4:30.  The crowd is louder and, more people join the crowd in the bleachers.

We have almost caught up with the Trojans and this makes the Trojans’ coach nervous.  The Trojans’ coach is named Coach Mckenzie.  I remember his name because he was the coach I had before the one I have now.  He had coached me for about two years, and I know when he gets frustrated.  When he gets frustrated, he starts to put his head down and shakes it.  When he brings his head back up, his face is like a red light bulb and he calls a time-out.

Well he calls a time-out, he keeps looking at me, and during the time-out his face is red.  His voice is loud and filled with temper.  I can hear him say with anger, “Stop her!”

At the end of the time-out I can see Coach Mckenzie had pushed a player to sit down and screams, “If you want to win, you’ve got to put your head in the game!”  I’ve never seen or felt this type of emotion from Coach McKenzie in my life.  After the time-out we get back to our game and once again we steal the ball.  We run as hard as we could to the other side to make a basket, but instead of a two pointer, we make a three pointer.  On the next play, we do it again!

After we make the basket, the Trojans try to throw the ball in to try to get the ball to the other side of the court, but when they throw it in, they accidentally throw it in to us, and we take advantage of the opportunity.  They try again, but once again it comes to us and we score, making us tied with 2:00 on the clock.  At this point my body feels as if it is going into overdrive because I am getting goose bumps that make my skin turn red.  My heart is beating twice as fast as it should and I don’t want to breathe until I make my next basket.

It’s the Trojan’s ball and they dribble down the court. Their coach yells “Yellow, set up our play yellow!”  They start to set up “Yellow” and play so intensely that one of their teammates gets hurt and sprains her ankle.  I’m not sure how bad it is because it looks like she tripped, but she stays on the floor for about thirty seconds without saying a word.  I don’t know if it is because she is in shock because we were about to catch up, or she really had a bad fall.  After thirty seconds she gets helped off the shiny wood floor and yells with tears, “Ahhhhh!”  Her tears burst out like sweat dripping down the back of a 400 lb man who stands in the sun for over an hour.  After she exits off the floor, we start to finish our game.  It’s still the Trojans’ ball and they throw it back in with 1:00 left on the clock.

 

They get back to setting their play up.  They pass, dribble, and try to make their play work, but our defense has become solid as a rock like I’ve never seen before and, they can’t get through it.  Bodies are slamming against each other, and sweat is swapping back and fourth.  They can’t penetrate through our defense, and we are too quick for them to make their play work.  My focus is currently on that ball, and that ball is going to be mine. 

We now have thirty seconds left, and it is either our win or the Trojans’ win. As the Trojans continue to pass, penetrate, and dribble, nothing is working. With twenty seconds left, they again pass (which is their last pass) because I steal the ball, run, and dribble as fast as I can to the other side to go for an easy lay-up, but I miss. I throw the ball a little too hard against the backboard and when I go for the lay-up, the ball bounces off the back board back onto the floor.

We’re tied, and the game’s over.  Now we’re in overtime with 2:00 on the clock, and it’s our ball.  We set up our play, and their defense is set up like a five man army.  We can’t seem to get through it and we lose the ball.  It is now their ball.  They set up another play, and after about 30 seconds their play works.  The basket goes in, and now they’re ahead by two points.  This feeling is devastating because they are winning.
 

After about one minute, we finally set up a play that gives us an opportunity to score.  We run to our courtside and set up our play.  The basketball is shot in the air, but it doesn’t go in.  They now have the ball, but I steal the ball by bending my knees and by putting my hands in my opponents face.  I slide from side to side while more sweat drips on the floor, and I take the basketball from her slimy hands.

We now have 15 seconds left, and I can’t dribble or even see past my defense because they are blocking and trapping me.  I throw the ball to a teammate and we now have 10 seconds left on the clock.  I eagerly want the ball back so I yell, “Ball, Ball, Ball!”  My teammate throws the ball to me and I anxiously, with consciousness, dribble with five seconds left.

Almost from half court all I can hear is “Shoot the ball!”  My temperature starts to rise, and I look up at the rim and throw the ball up.  The ball releases in the air and everybody is silent.  The scoreboard makes a loud sound, which means the game is over.  The basketball bounces off the backboard and goes through the hoop.  The crowd screams and everybody from the bleachers run to the floor.  I can no longer frown or speak.  I have no feelings to express after what I’ve been through.  In my head the moment hasn’t caught up to me yet, and I’m still strategizing.  I’m tired, sore, and I just want to scream.

 After the buzzer, I freeze for about 5 seconds and, I no longer speak or move.  I realize I’ve been through every emotion I’ve never had, and I realized that my winning emotion is also my losing emotion.




                     

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