Sports is a completely polarizing activity. There are sports nuts and there are those who just couldn't care less. I wouldn't categorize myself as a nut, but an adherent of sports. I appreciate the way sports can unite a group of people on a team, how it can bring together fans, how it can unify a country. Especially in a small country like Korea, any one success in Korean sports is cause for the whole country to erupt in celebration.
Since I've been here, I've been lucky to find a place to ball. I wouldn't have thought I would be playing almost every weekend, but there's really nothing like the feeling of a warm summer night spent under the lights, running back and forth on a court. I remember playing for hours on end during college summers. Literally playing till the wee hours of the morning, grabbing breakfast with friends, and heading home to sleep at 7am.
In Korea, basketball is a little different. There are definitely some pros and cons when playing. Here, I will share a few:
Cons
- No checks, they literally take the ball out of bounds and pass it in.
- Irregular amounts of traveling and double dribbling.
- TOO MANY FOULS... the hand is not considered a part of the ball, and every little bump, touch, swipe is called a foul.
Pros
- Courtesy. They're very courteous, apologize politely, and don't take it quite as seriously as they do back in the states. I guess they keep things in perspective and know that it really is just a game.
- Smart ball. In general, though the athletic ability falls a tiny bit short of the competition in the America, these guys seem to be well learned in basketball technique and theory.
- Finesse. I'm not a big contact player (don't like touching people), so I like that everyone here is more finesse than power.
I'm not only enjoying playing, but learning basketball culture in a different country. There's nothing profound to be said about this love. Only that it's a whole lot o' fun.
Since I've been here, I've been lucky to find a place to ball. I wouldn't have thought I would be playing almost every weekend, but there's really nothing like the feeling of a warm summer night spent under the lights, running back and forth on a court. I remember playing for hours on end during college summers. Literally playing till the wee hours of the morning, grabbing breakfast with friends, and heading home to sleep at 7am.
In Korea, basketball is a little different. There are definitely some pros and cons when playing. Here, I will share a few:
Cons
- No checks, they literally take the ball out of bounds and pass it in.
- Irregular amounts of traveling and double dribbling.
- TOO MANY FOULS... the hand is not considered a part of the ball, and every little bump, touch, swipe is called a foul.
Pros
- Courtesy. They're very courteous, apologize politely, and don't take it quite as seriously as they do back in the states. I guess they keep things in perspective and know that it really is just a game.
- Smart ball. In general, though the athletic ability falls a tiny bit short of the competition in the America, these guys seem to be well learned in basketball technique and theory.
- Finesse. I'm not a big contact player (don't like touching people), so I like that everyone here is more finesse than power.
I'm not only enjoying playing, but learning basketball culture in a different country. There's nothing profound to be said about this love. Only that it's a whole lot o' fun.
2 comments:
what does our picture have to do with basketball??
less ball hogs too, and more half court games - but just don't break the rules or use bad manners with the wrong person, lest a fight break out :P
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