So I heard about this MIT Basketball Tournament thing coming up in 2025. Honestly, my first thought was “who has time for this?” Between classes and my part-time job, my schedule’s packed. But then my roommate Mike wouldn’t shut up about it after he saw the flyers. Kept saying I’d regret not checking it out.
The Signup Mess
Walked over to the student activities office last Tuesday. Line was out the damn door – took me forty minutes just to get to the front desk. The lady handed me this wrinkled form asking all kinds of questions: position preference, years playing experience, t-shirt size. Felt like applying for a damn loan. Almost bailed when she said there’d be tryouts.
Tryout Nightmares
Showed up at the gym Thursday night. Place was swarming with students in tank tops looking all serious. Coach made us do these awful drills:
- Suicide sprints till my lungs burned
- Three-point shots with everyone watching
- This brutal one-on-one drill where some tall guy kept blocking me
Sweat through my shirt in ten minutes. Thought I’d puke after the fourth sprint. Somehow made the third-string roster.
Why It Actually Rules
After three practices, I get why Mike was so pushy:
- Made four friends just from our terrible team
- Gym access got better – we get priority slots now
- Free gear is dope – got two jerseys already
For spectators? Way better than regular season games. The announcers roast players constantly. Saw some professor trip over his own feet last scrimmage – whole bench died laughing. Plus the event staff gave out insane pizza slices during halftime.
The Real Deal
Played our first actual game yesterday. We got destroyed but nobody cared. Afterward, our whole team went to that burger joint near campus. Mike paid for my fries saying “told you so”. The tournament’s basically like:
- Bad players get exercise
- Good players show off
- Everyone gets free stuff and stories
Thought it’d be some serious sports thing. Turns out it’s just a giant hangout with bouncing balls. Already marked my calendar for next year’s games.