Alright folks, grabbed my laptop and a cold brew this morning ready to bang out this year’s Eastern A Divisional Basketball roundup. Honestly? Went down expecting the usual hustle but man, walked away with my notebook scribbled full and camera memory bursting. Crazy season.
Getting There Was Half the Battle
Woke up stupid early Tuesday for the championship clashes. Drove my rustbucket two hours to that old downtown arena – parking was already a zoo. Sprinted past scalpers yelling about “last-minute deals” (yeah right) and squeezed through security just as the first whistle blew. Place was electric, packed tighter than my garage on garbage day.
Court-Side Chaos & That Rookie Kid
Scored a spot near the bench somehow. First quarter was textbook stuff: Star players hitting threes, defenders clapping like crazy. Felt predictable. Then BOOM – second quarter, this unknown kid named Theo comes off the bench for Hillside High. Looked nervous, dribbling heavy like his shoes were cement. Crowd kinda mumbled. Then? Kid nails three back-to-back jumpers from downtown. Whole section went silent then erupted. My coffee nearly flew out of my hand. Wrote down: “WHO IS THIS KID??” circled three times.
- Saw Coach Miller pacing like a caged tiger, screaming plays I couldn’t even make out over the noise.
- That ref call was wild – overturned after three minutes of arguing. Fans behind me were ready to riot.
- Theo got swarmed by his team after that third basket. Pure chaos on their bench.
The Underdog Overtime That Broke Us All
Fast forward to Friday semis. Never saw this coming – River’s Edge Middle School, dead last in predictions, clawed back from 15 points down against the reigning champs. Tied the game with literally 2 seconds left. Overtime. The noise? Deafening. Kids were crying in the stands. I spilled nacho cheese on my lucky hoodie but didn’t care. Watched River’s Edge sink the winner after double overtime. My hands were shaking trying to snap pics. Whole vibe shifted – went from “just a game” to pure hometown pride screaming from the rafters.
Packin’ Up & Processing the Madness
Driving home, replaying everything in my head. Sorted footage Sunday. Re-watched Theo’s shots frame by frame – kid’s got this weirdly smooth wrist flick nobody saw coming. River’s Edge coach just stood there post-win, staring at the scoreboard like he couldn’t believe it either. Scribbled final thoughts late last night: Less about perfect plays, more about teams finding grit when their backs hit the wall. Theo and River’s Edge? Nobody saw ‘em coming. This season reminded me why I do this – for the raw, messy, human surprises no spreadsheet predicts.
Anyway, gonna edit that footage now. Batteries drained, brain fried. Totally worth it.