Throw Me An Elbow, And I'd Throw It Right Back

My battlefield

I started playing basketball when I was just 13, I think after watching Michael Jordan in 'Space Jam'. Back then, I have a group of friends who were into basketball as well. We would play basketball during Pendidikan Jasmani classes, and after school as well. We would have fun, and we love our basketball so much, we would camp on the basketball court itself if Pak Guard let us, or play in the rain. We were basketball junkies back then - and that was the reason why I was a dark, skinny young boy growing up. My mom almost disowned me because she said I don't look like her son anymore -___-" People dark a bit only mah!

My weapon

12 years on, I don't see basketball as a fun sport anymore. Well, not to say it's not fun at all lah, but I see the basketball court as a battlefield - a place where only the fittest will survive. The fun game I used to know is not that fun anymore: my friends are not so passionate about the sport anymore and most of us are too busy to hit the courts, now that we are all adults. 

But these couple of years, the basketball court is a place where I could escape to. Life didn't really go according to how I wanted it to at times, and while some can afford to fly to an island for a holiday, the only place I know I can let it all out is the basketball court. I know that for a two good hours, I'll be able to just forget what's on my mind. 

A good basketball game is the perfect distraction to all the mess that is going around. When I'm sad, I go to the court. When I feel lonely, I go to the court. When I'm angry, I go to the court. I feel that the basketball court is the only place I could let my competitive instincts rule me and a place where I can smile at the challenge of playing against someone better. It's a place where when someone throws me an elbow, I can throw it right back. Or when someone taunts me, I'll taunt them back with the game-winning shot. Sometimes there is no better feeling than to look at your opponents' dejected faces, and that, as bad as it may sound, it does put a smile on mine. 

From what used to be my playground, to what I call it my battlefield now, I sometimes think basketball is what keeps me sane =)