Night Ball

As much as I know I shouldn't complain, I miss a lot of things about America. I miss the BBQ. I miss the family birthday parties. I miss free refills. I miss late night talks in my fraternity. I miss watching KU basketball with my dad. I miss playing basketball with my fraternity brothers on warm spring nights when we should be studying for finals.

I found an outlet for my basketball craving a few weeks ago when a friend of mine told me about a street ball court tucked away behind a Burger King about 20 minutes from my house.

There are a lot of differences in the different ways the Spaniards play - we play half court, 4-on-4, first team to 5 by 1's and 2's, make-it-take-it. I don't know if it's because Spain is a soccer country, but every time you barely bump someone it's automatically a foul (a falta). They don't ever "check" the ball, so when you pass the ball back to the top of the key after a basket, you better be ready to go again (I learned that they hard way a few times). The Spaniards I play with are a lot better at playing as a team, setting picks and passing, too.

Although there are a decent amount of differences, I've come to realize that sports are more or less a similar thing throughout the entire world. Just like in the U.S., there's always going to be those hot-heads that think they're better than they are, the guys that are too nice to dominate the game even though they totally could, the homeboy that calls a foul every time he misses a shot, the dude that never admits he fouled, the bro that thinks he's hardcore because he can touch the rim.

Since going with my friend for the first time, I go to play street basketball about 4 or 5 times a week, and have made plenty of friends to practice my Spanish with. I've gotten on a first-name basis with some of them, and others have even adopted the nickname "rubio" for me - probably call me that because "rubio" in Spanish means "blonde" and I'm clearly the only white guy on the court. Sometimes, though, I like the forget the Spanish translation I like to think that they're referring to Ricky Rubio, one of Spain's youngest basketball superstars....

A bro can dream, right?

Brad.