There¡¯s a certain smell that dwells around when you first enter the gym. The smell of sweat, leather, and wood all wrapped up into one comforts me and makes me feel as if I¡¯m greeting an old friend. The floor bellows beneath my feet as it seems to welcome my return. The first dribble I take echoes throughout the gym and the sweet sound of the net greets me as it seems to be glad to meet the ball again. Yes, this is my turf, the basketball court in which my favorite sport is played.
I have been playing basketball for quite some time now and it has quickly risen up to be my number one sport. It isn¡¯t that I¡¯m exceptionally good at the sport. I jump just barely high enough to touch the net and I almost always lose the fight for the rebound, but I fill in that space with my speed and an outside shot that rarely fails. Despite my weaknesses and the many days that the ball seems to have betrayed me, there¡¯s still something about basketball that lures me into the court every day.
Almost every day after dinner I charge into the gym. One by one, my friends begin to enter and we begin practicing our shooting. Soon we take sides and start the game. 5 on 5, full court is the way we usually play it. When the game starts we¡¯re no longer friends. It¡¯s either teammate or opponent. Everybody crowds into the center. The ball goes up and the tip off! The ball comes flying at me. I catch the ball and dribble it down the court. I keep on running, twisting and turning my way through the heavy defense until I¡¯m finally near the net. Then I start my shoot motion. An opponent comes at me and outstretches his arm trying to block my shot. He¡¯s in for a surprise as he sees me pass it. It was a fake! My teammate receives the ball and gracefully lays it into the basket.
Our angry opponents become determined to catch up. You can see the determination in their eyes. Their offense starts and we begin our defense. Defense is equally exhilarating if you become give an effort to never give up a goal. The block shot hypes up your team and a steal gives the other team a feeling of despair.
Basketball to me is the most beautiful, action- packed sport there is. Just looking at others play awes you. But once you actually play you get to know the great inner joy of it. It¡¯s never a sport which can be done alone but a sport in which cooperation is a necessity. By making eye contact with your teammates you instinctively know what that person is going to do. The slap of hands that comes after a bit of fancy passing and a successful shot, fills me with ecstasy and a desire to win; both for myself and my teammates. Of all the sports I¡¯ve played, there is no sport in which teamwork can be felt so magically. This magical feeling is how basketball seduces me everyday.