I've been reluctant to write this blog post. I've put it off even though it happened on the day of the last one that I put up. Picture this, and put yourself in our position. Go ahead, for the next few minutes, consider yourselves apart of our team.
Remember, we needed to win 2 out of our last four games in order to get ourselves out of last place and into the play-outs to try and save our team from going down to the second division, and we've won 1 out of 2 so far. This is our last home game, and best chance to get the other win. We started this game on a Sunday, and it got "rain-delayed" so now we are continuing it today. Naples was winning by 20 when we quit last time, so we have some work to do. We battle it out, they're tired from having to stay a couple more days (it's Tuesday by this time) and we win a very exciting game. We collect a little love from the crowd, and head into the locker room to celebrate a little. Our "number 1" fan even brought us a bottle of dolce spumante! Then, I hear our president yelling right outside the locker room and see that it's directed at our American center, who was innocently going to collect her passport, like every game. He yelled something profane at her and then said that she doesn't decide when she goes home, but he does!!! Meanwhile, he was waving her passport at her tauntingly like a jerk. She doesn't understand what he said, but sees her passport and makes a grab at it. He ends up pushing her away and taking off out the door with us trying to hold this furious kid back.
His argument was that she was trying to lose on purpose (she had 6 fouls in 15 minutes, including a technical after she fouled out) so that we could go home on April 5th instead of playing in the post-season. Totally bogus.
Then other stuff happened with our crazy little Belgian point guard. She was crying and inconsolable because she thought everyone else thought she was trying to lose too (to prove she wasn't she was pretending to shoot the president and G.M. during the game after she scored). She ended up in a screaming match with our G.M. and finally left, never to be seen again.
That's just the basics. Other teammates were emotionally shocked from all the screaming that they had never seen before, but personally it didn't bother me too much. I've had 1 or 2 screamers in my day, so that doesn't phase me. And the stuff that I have never seen before, it just takes a lot to surprise me after this year. And all this happened because the president felt it necessary that his first words to us in 4 months should have been those, not even letting us celebrate the victory for five minutes after the buzzer went off. And all this was on my birthday...
Drama, drama, drama. Did you experience that with us? Kiki said our team is like the reality show Big Brother. "This weeks elimination: Marjo the Belgian!" Thankfully, our American stays on for another week!
We played great at Parma, but lost in over time. It didn't matter. We are in the play-outs, and we're gonna try and save our team even though we haven't been treated the greatest. Now, if we WIN we finish earlier, so trying to lose won't be even a temptation for anyone. Our first game of the first round 3-game series starts Easter Monday (we have to travel on Easter....) and it's only a few hours from where all the earthquakes are happening. They haven't had any effects, so none of the Italians are worried at all, but it is a horrible disaster- almost 300 dead was the count this morning. Praying for their families. Pray for us too!
(photos are compliments of Kiki's Uncle Maurizio-- the one with me and Kiki was after the game where I got tackled and we were talking about it!)
Keep your head up, Jami. You'll be done before you know it!
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