High School Basketball

It had been awhile since I stepped foot inside my old high school; at least three years, anyways. For me, there's always that nervousness of encountering someone I hadn't seen in some time and drumming up a conversation with them and having them ask a million questions about what I'm up to these days. Thankfully that did not happen once I ventured back into those hallowed hallways of the high school and attended the boys district basketball final game. Our school was not only hosting the tournament but also playing in the final game with a chance to win a trophy and advance to the next round of the tournament. Seeing that I was off from work this weekend and both my dad and I were available to attend the game, we figured we'd check the action out and see just how good this year's boys basketball team was. Despite some generally sloppy play at first, it was an enjoyable game which saw the home team win. It did not disappoint.

I must admit, it was a little bit odd entering the old school once I first stepped inside. With one quick glance around, things did not look much different at all. Upon entering the main entrance to the high school, the gymnasium is just right off to the left. So needless to say, I did not get an opporunity to take a walk down the hallways of the old school but that's alright; save that for another time. The gymnasium did not look very different, overall. It's still the same building with the same features of seven/eight years ago. The walls were painted brighter, though. Instead of an ugly green stripe that lined the perimeter of the gym wall; it was now painted a dark blue - more fitting of one of our school's colors. The gym floor was painted in a much more colorful pattern. The out-of-bounds area on each end of the floor was painted blue with the school name stenciled out of the blue. The free throw lane was pained a solid blue color and "Cougars" was lettered along the sidelines near the bleachers. A beautiful cougar icon was painted on center court. Now this is the kind of gym floor our school should've had when it was originally build in the early 1990's. The floor very drab and plain up until a few years ago. They've made great progress in making the gym look more like cougar-country.

Many familiar faces graced the bleachers of the gymnasium; and although many were familiar, I did not know a lot of them personally. It was still nice to see the school spirit in full force that night. But somehow the majesty of Cougar playoff basketball just didn't seem to be the same as it used to be for me. I remember the stands of the gym being completely packed when the hometeam was playing back when I was a student. There was also a lack of a true cheerleading squad, as well. It looked as if a cheer squad was assembled, but I don't know if they had been together all season or if the switch from having the girls basketball teams play in the winter time instead of the fall as what was the case for years had a negative effect on having a regular cheerleading squad. They didn't even have the usual cheerleading uniforms on - just short-shorts and a regular top. Whatever the case, they made a nice effort, but they did not have the full enthusiasm like the old cheer squads of old. But there has to be a reason why this years squad was lacking.

All in all, it was a fun reunion-of-sorts at the old high school. Even though I hadn't been to a high school basketball game in a few years, the old school spirit came back in full force. It proved to me that it was alive and well, but just secretly tucked away inside for whenever I needed it again. I may not know many of the faces on the basketball teams anymore, but no matter what, whenever my school plays in an important game, they still have my support. And it's nice to know that no matter how long you've been away, for the most part, things pretty much stay the same. From the people, the school spirit, to the asthetics of the game and the buildings themselves - you can stay away from the place for two to three years and find things relatively unchanged. It's nice that a little part of your past still stays with you even into the present.