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Sweet J

Yup, that's yours truly shooting the jumper from beyond the 3-point line! I actually got a couple of inches off the ground! How's my shooting form?

This image has picked up quite a lot of hits, someone is linking this page or something, well whoever you are, thanks for the hits!

For the love of the game
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I biked to the park today with a basketball in one hand and the other on the handle bar.

Upon arriving to the court, there were three open court and one occupied. Ah, the Grandpa is going at it again. A lot of the time I come to shoot hoops I will see an old man, I know he is Chinese and he must be about 80-90 years old. But I always see him shooting the basketball by himself. He would shoot from the same spot over and over again. The spot, 3 feet behind the free throw line. He will be at it for about 30 minutes.

With him on the court, it feels comforting and encouraging. Here was a grandpa shooting hoops, and he had all the proper gear. He was wearing athletic sweats and sweatshirts, Nike basketball shoes with air soles in them. I was only wearing Vans and my PE shirts and shorts. I felt that if a grandpa has the will to come out here to shoot hoop, then why does my lazy butt sit at home watching TV? I shoot on, with him in mind, for another 10 minutes. After which he started to pack up to walk back home. As he leaves the court, I ran over to the court that was previously occupied by him. I felt that maybe I can instill some of that endurance in me since I am in the same aura he's in. So I started shooting again, I felt myself slip into another place.

With nothing else in mind, it was just the ball and the basket, my eyes picked up only these two objects. I guess you can call it the zone. Where you are at peace, just stroking that ball and with the whole court to yourself, the whole field to yourself, the whole school to yourself, the whole park to yourself, the whole world to yourself. Time stood still as you try to imagine yourself in a game.
Some people ask me why I love basketball, I tell them, and it’s really a simple game. You just have to put the ball in the basket right? It's easy. But the process in getting the ball to the basket is complicated that it boggles me. You can describe the shot as "lay-up, jump shot, hook shot, free-throw, bank shot, open shot, three point shot, alley-op, scoop shot, set-shot, finger-roll and the infamous Slam Dunk! I love the game, I love the court, no matter if I win or lose, I always have fun. And at the end of the game, I am always so tired that end up lying with my back on the ground. Some take me as a dirty slob because I am all wiped with dust. But I love the game so much that I don't care what other people say, I could just sleep there on the basketball concrete, dirty and all.

As I continue shooting, these thoughts dribbled through my mind. Then I realize it's getting really dark and I can't see the basket anymore. Alright, I guess it's time to pack up and get home so I can catch some basketball playoff action on TV.


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aeris 22-Dec-2005 08:19
dude.. you finally posted this up! hahahaha... yeah... actually it looks pretty cool. :)