Currently, the FIBA Asia Championship basketball tournament is taking place at a stadium a mere 15 minute walk from my home. One of the teachers at school got tickets this weekend and so my roommate and I went to a couple of games on Saturday afternoon. Apparently these games decide which teams go on to compete in the Olympics so they're a pretty big deal. However, we went on the first weekend so we saw some of the lowest teams playing. It was quite a unique experience, and I will try to relate it as best I can.
The first thing I noticed when we sat down was the fact that I'm pretty sure the court is smaller than any basketball court I've ever seen. I assumed that all basketball courts were set up according to some type of regulated measurements, but this court was definitely smaller than ones I've seen before. It was also strange that there weren't a lot of people there. Now, we were at the Saturday afternoon games watching teams that weren't really expected to do much, so I know that had a lot to do with it, but it was still strange.
The first game was between Korea and India. So they start the game like normal.......and then..........the music......oh my. Throughout the entire game they played short clips from all of the following (this is not fabricated, we made a list):
-If You're Happy and You Know it, Clap Your Hands,
-Star Wars: The Imperial March
-It's Raining Men (quite appropriate actually-I approved of that selection)
-Smoke on the Water
-A random tune that sounded Greek
-Traditional Chinese music
-Popular Korean songs
-An Indian ditty
-The Final Countdown
-She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain
-American pop songs (I don't know the titles, but I recognized the tunes)
-BINGO
-Battle Hymn of the Republic
-A distinguished English classical sonata
There were a few more, but you get the idea-all of these would repeat throughout the game. It was the best game of "Name that Tune" I'd ever played. I'm pretty sure that the best part of the whole thing was the music.
The second game we saw was between Chinese Taipei and Qatar. The Qatar team only had 5 players, and it appeared that they didn't really have an actual coach. They had at least 6 people sitting on the bench that looked coach like, but every time they had a time out one of the players was telling everyone what to do. At one point, one of the players had some type of injury and had to sit out for a few minutes of the game-leaving the other four to fend off the opposition. Needless to say, they lost-however, they actually didn't lose as bad as India lost to Korea.
Other than the music, the games were not as intense or aggressive as I've seen in the States. Also, the refs don't really catch much. If I can tell that they aren't calling it when people are traveling or fouling each other, than there's a serious problem. It was also fun to watch the crowd because they cheer for everybody. This is probably because China wasn't playing in either of the games so they didn't care who won either way. Though it was strange that they really only cheered when anyone made a basket. Other than that, it was basically silent. I was actually thankful for the random music because when it stopped for a few seconds all you could hear was the squeaky shoes of the players. It was strange to go to a sports event without die hard fans screaming at each other, the players and the refs.
And so, it was a pretty fun afternoon and quite a unique experience.
Haha, I liked hearing about that! You are one funny lady.
ReplyDeleteKara, I also have a random amusing story. You were in my dream last night. You and Megan (your roommate) were sleeping in the same bed and Megan stole all the covers. I tried to give you a blanket, but you turned into someone else.
That's pretty neat. We actually did have to share a bed once when I stayed with her and her family the week before graduation, however, I was definitely the one that stole all of the covers. Thanks for looking out for my well being:) I am curious to know who I turned into.
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