And Therein Lies the Tale
Once upon a time in a little river town in the Midwest, a strange thing happened.
The folks in this little river town had forgotten how to play basketball. Oh, sure, from time to time a pickup game might break out, but no one in the town really played the game anymore. They just watched the pro teams play.
One day, a man in the little river town decided it was time to bring the game back. After all, the little river town was once one of the basketball-playingest towns around. He said to himself, “We ought to play this game again. It’s not that hard, and it will be good for the town.”
So the man (everyone called him “The Baller”) just started playing. At first, most people just watched him play, but ever so slowly, more and more people began to join him.
He built a court where town ball could be played and each morning he repainted the stripes on the court. He restrung the nets. He checked the inflation on the ball. And each morning he would pass the ball inbounds, and then wait to see who took the pass.
On the best days, another player would take the inbounds pass and begin to dribble, waiting for another player to get open. On the best days, one of the players would sink a basket or make an assist, and everybody cheered.
And on very special days, The Baller would perform a mind-blowing windmill dunk, leaving everyone speechless.
When word got out in the town that The Baller had built his new court and that he prepared it each day for a new game, more and more people came out to play. Even more came out to watch and to learn again just how to play the game their ancestors had played so well.
As he and the other players refined their skills, many people who had never played the game, or hadn’t played in a long time, joined the game.
The Baller was happy. He was very patient with the new players. He taught them the game and explained the rules.
You see, for everybody to enjoy the game, everybody had to play by the same rules. Basketball was a game that had rules. People all over the place played by the same rules, and you couldn’t just make them up on a whim.
Although the rules of basketball weren’t all that complicated, some of the new players didn’t like the idea of rules. When the ball went out of bounds, they would go on as if nothing untoward had happened. When called for a foul, they would cry “Not fair.” But in order for everyone to enjoy the game, The Baller enforced the rules. The Baller called fouls.
But still, he was patient, especially with the newer players whose skills had not yet developed. Because The Baller was committed to the idea that playing basketball would be good for the town. He believed with all his heart that basketball was a game that everyone could play – not just the pros.
One time, a player with the potential to be a very good one broke a very important rule. This player insisted that a basket be credited to him, even though another player from another town had actually shot the ball. When all the other players pointed out that it wasn’t his basket (it wasn’t even his shot), he insisted he had done nothing wrong. It took a long time to get that one straightened out.
But The Baller continued to be patient, even with the player who seemingly couldn’t understand the rules. Because he knew that playing basketball would be good for the town.
The Baller became such a good basketball player that many of the folks in the little river town were intimidated by his skills. He was a very confident player, because he practiced all the time; and he studied the rules like they were a religion.
When a neighbor decided it was time to build a new court for the less skillful players, The Baller thought it was a good thing. After all, playing basketball, he was sure, would be a good thing for the town. The Baller called all his friends and told them about the new court, just as he had done every time a new court was built in the town. He offered balls, nets, and paint for striping. But most of all he offered his encouragement.
He knew, too, how important it was to play by the rules. Without rules, people would give up and stop playing basketball. Being a generous soul, he would stop by the other court from time to time to offer coaching tips or just to watch the players at this new court.
When the ball wasn’t inflated properly, he would offer his air pump. When the builder of the new court forgot to turn the lights on, The Baller would go over and flip the switch so everyone could play.
But, almost from the beginning, The Baller could see that this new court wasn’t playing basketball. No matter how much the builder of the new court insisted that it was basketball, it was not.
At the new court, there was no out of bounds. And then there was. And then there wasn’t. No one could tell if there were any rules because they changed. The builder of the new court decided that the baskets should be lower and that shots that didn’t go in should count for just as many points as shots that did. And as for the rules, well, the only sure thing allowed was if a player complained that rules were bad for the game. The game they played at the new court wasn’t even recognizable. Points were credited to people who didn’t even show up, to people who double-dribbled, traveled, fouled, or just plain missed.
A declaration was made by many of the players that one player, a woman who never even played, should be given ten points, even though she never even picked up a basketball.
The Baller and some of his friends tried to help. They reminded the builder and the players on the new court that you couldn’t call it basketball if you didn’t have a ball. You couldn’t give points to people who never even showed up.
But the builder, jealous of the success and popularity of The Baller, and unwilling to study the rules at all, began to enjoy the praise she received from all the anonymous players who loved playing this game with no rules.
“We have the right,” she said, “to call our game ‘basketball,’ too. We don’t have to follow any rules if we don’t want to.”
And then, despite all her protestations that she had built her court for the playing of basketball and despite her claim to welcome all the people to play, she issued a fatwa against The Baller and his friends.
And although The Baller went on to encourage the creation of more and more basketball courts, and was praised for generations as the man who brought basketball back to the town, the little court where the game with no rules was played withered and died. Its builder came to realize that The Baller had been right. Its builder came to know that her court’s brief popularity came about only when The Baller and his friends dropped by to teach the game and its rules. When The Baller finally acknowledged that the builder had been lying all along about building a “basketball” court, he turned his attention back to those who really wanted to play the game.
And that’s why, today, we can look back and call The Baller “The Builder.” And that’s why today, the builder of that other court where the game with no name was played for a few weeks, is known only as a fraud.
----------------------------------------------
Randy Smith, destinations@sbcglobal.net
The folks in this little river town had forgotten how to play basketball. Oh, sure, from time to time a pickup game might break out, but no one in the town really played the game anymore. They just watched the pro teams play.
One day, a man in the little river town decided it was time to bring the game back. After all, the little river town was once one of the basketball-playingest towns around. He said to himself, “We ought to play this game again. It’s not that hard, and it will be good for the town.”
So the man (everyone called him “The Baller”) just started playing. At first, most people just watched him play, but ever so slowly, more and more people began to join him.
He built a court where town ball could be played and each morning he repainted the stripes on the court. He restrung the nets. He checked the inflation on the ball. And each morning he would pass the ball inbounds, and then wait to see who took the pass.
On the best days, another player would take the inbounds pass and begin to dribble, waiting for another player to get open. On the best days, one of the players would sink a basket or make an assist, and everybody cheered.
And on very special days, The Baller would perform a mind-blowing windmill dunk, leaving everyone speechless.
When word got out in the town that The Baller had built his new court and that he prepared it each day for a new game, more and more people came out to play. Even more came out to watch and to learn again just how to play the game their ancestors had played so well.
As he and the other players refined their skills, many people who had never played the game, or hadn’t played in a long time, joined the game.
The Baller was happy. He was very patient with the new players. He taught them the game and explained the rules.
You see, for everybody to enjoy the game, everybody had to play by the same rules. Basketball was a game that had rules. People all over the place played by the same rules, and you couldn’t just make them up on a whim.
Although the rules of basketball weren’t all that complicated, some of the new players didn’t like the idea of rules. When the ball went out of bounds, they would go on as if nothing untoward had happened. When called for a foul, they would cry “Not fair.” But in order for everyone to enjoy the game, The Baller enforced the rules. The Baller called fouls.
But still, he was patient, especially with the newer players whose skills had not yet developed. Because The Baller was committed to the idea that playing basketball would be good for the town. He believed with all his heart that basketball was a game that everyone could play – not just the pros.
One time, a player with the potential to be a very good one broke a very important rule. This player insisted that a basket be credited to him, even though another player from another town had actually shot the ball. When all the other players pointed out that it wasn’t his basket (it wasn’t even his shot), he insisted he had done nothing wrong. It took a long time to get that one straightened out.
But The Baller continued to be patient, even with the player who seemingly couldn’t understand the rules. Because he knew that playing basketball would be good for the town.
The Baller became such a good basketball player that many of the folks in the little river town were intimidated by his skills. He was a very confident player, because he practiced all the time; and he studied the rules like they were a religion.
When a neighbor decided it was time to build a new court for the less skillful players, The Baller thought it was a good thing. After all, playing basketball, he was sure, would be a good thing for the town. The Baller called all his friends and told them about the new court, just as he had done every time a new court was built in the town. He offered balls, nets, and paint for striping. But most of all he offered his encouragement.
He knew, too, how important it was to play by the rules. Without rules, people would give up and stop playing basketball. Being a generous soul, he would stop by the other court from time to time to offer coaching tips or just to watch the players at this new court.
When the ball wasn’t inflated properly, he would offer his air pump. When the builder of the new court forgot to turn the lights on, The Baller would go over and flip the switch so everyone could play.
But, almost from the beginning, The Baller could see that this new court wasn’t playing basketball. No matter how much the builder of the new court insisted that it was basketball, it was not.
At the new court, there was no out of bounds. And then there was. And then there wasn’t. No one could tell if there were any rules because they changed. The builder of the new court decided that the baskets should be lower and that shots that didn’t go in should count for just as many points as shots that did. And as for the rules, well, the only sure thing allowed was if a player complained that rules were bad for the game. The game they played at the new court wasn’t even recognizable. Points were credited to people who didn’t even show up, to people who double-dribbled, traveled, fouled, or just plain missed.
A declaration was made by many of the players that one player, a woman who never even played, should be given ten points, even though she never even picked up a basketball.
The Baller and some of his friends tried to help. They reminded the builder and the players on the new court that you couldn’t call it basketball if you didn’t have a ball. You couldn’t give points to people who never even showed up.
But the builder, jealous of the success and popularity of The Baller, and unwilling to study the rules at all, began to enjoy the praise she received from all the anonymous players who loved playing this game with no rules.
“We have the right,” she said, “to call our game ‘basketball,’ too. We don’t have to follow any rules if we don’t want to.”
And then, despite all her protestations that she had built her court for the playing of basketball and despite her claim to welcome all the people to play, she issued a fatwa against The Baller and his friends.
And although The Baller went on to encourage the creation of more and more basketball courts, and was praised for generations as the man who brought basketball back to the town, the little court where the game with no rules was played withered and died. Its builder came to realize that The Baller had been right. Its builder came to know that her court’s brief popularity came about only when The Baller and his friends dropped by to teach the game and its rules. When The Baller finally acknowledged that the builder had been lying all along about building a “basketball” court, he turned his attention back to those who really wanted to play the game.
And that’s why, today, we can look back and call The Baller “The Builder.” And that’s why today, the builder of that other court where the game with no name was played for a few weeks, is known only as a fraud.
----------------------------------------------
Randy Smith, destinations@sbcglobal.net
posted by All4Word at 10:39 AM
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