Basketball

Disclaimer, this posting is about basketball. If you are not a fan, you might want to skip this excerpt.

When I first got on the plane for Buenos Aires, I expected to find basketball courts on every corner. With players like Manu Ginóbili, Luis Scola and Carlos Delfino and one of the best national teams, I was sure that the country would be full of basketball fever. Much to my surprise though, that was not the case. Landing in Buenos Aires, it took me a month to find a suitable court.

Everywhere I went, I would be met by confused grimaces when I would ask for directions to a basketball court.

“Fútbol” my host mom would ask. “You wants find Fútbol?”

This was a common reaction. Nearly every park, road, dirt patch and school was filled with goals made of flag posts, backpacks, shoes and cones. It seemed like everywhere I’d look, I’d see an Argentina jersey of Messi or Higuaín. This country loves soccer. And yet, basketball was nearly impossible to find in Buenos Aires.

Curious about this, I asked the head of my program where all the ballers were. I asked him why it was that there were so few courts in Buenos Aires. He said that the answer was mostly due to social aspects. 

He said that basketball was entirely based on clubs in Argentina. Unlike the United States, where local courts were the norm, in Argentina, they were mostly indoor arenas, where you had to be on a club to play.

These clubs are most prevalent outside of Buenos Aires, he said. In the smaller neighborhoods where the community can rally around the clubs, basketball becomes a way of life. Meanwhile, the immense size of Buenos Aires makes community commitment to a team more difficult. There are clubs in Buenos Aires, but these clubs are typically less able to mobilize the community around them.

I searched the city, and found only one outdoor court, all the way on the other side of the city in an area called La Boca. This area, which was more than an hour away by bus, was simply too far to travel to consistently. It looked like basketball was going to have to wait until I got back to the United States.

That’s when I became a varsity athlete. Not quite sure what we were signing up for, my friend and I decided to put our names down for my university basketball team. In my eyes there were three options. Option one was that the skill level was similar to U.S. schools, in which case I would find myself a permanent spot on the bench. Option two was that the team would be of varied skill levels, where some would be much better than me, but I’d still be able to play. And three was that it would be a league of soccer players, dabbling in basketball, where I would be the Michael Jordan of the league.

Much to my disappointment, it was not option three and I am not the Argentine MJ. Luckily though, it wasn’t option one either. When I walked in for my first practice, I was met by a terrifying man with a stern face and a thick accent. This mammoth of a man, Trainer Horacio, was our head coach.  When I went to introduce myself, he gave me a grunt, and sent me on my way to warm up.

The first thing I noticed when I stepped on the court was the size of the hoop. It was a full half-foot shorter than a real hoop. Trying to set a good impression, I grabbed the provided ball, and dribbled towards the hoop. I took a jumper, and of course it was over shot, banging against the back of the tiny rim. Looking around, nobody was looking, so I grabbed the ball and tried again. This time I took a layup, and used the small hoop to my advantage. I slammed my hand against the backboard as I laid it in. 

Practices since that layup have gone well. Usually, we do a series of drills, followed by a relaxed scrimmage at the end of practice. This team that meets every Monday and Wednesday for two hours, already seems like a great experience. I recommend it to any future students at UCA. It’s laid-back, it’s good practice for basketball and Spanish, and it’s a great way to meet Argentine students. Not to mention, I get to say that I am a varsity athlete.

Next stop is the GW Basketball team.