Basketball--My Guilty Pleasure!

I love basketball. I love to watch the games, whether it's live or on tv. When I was in high school, I went to all the home games and some of the away games, and I never missed a tournament game. I went to my college's games while a student there, even though it wasn't one of the "big four" schools, and had a "so-so" record.

Later, when my oldest son played basketball while in high school, I went to nearly all of his games; I don't think I missed any, even though he attended a private school that was a 45-minute drive from my home, and some of the away games meant traveling a couple of hours to get there. After high school, he played in a local league, and I went to several of those games, even though I was often one of only a half a dozen spectators. (and the only players mother attending!) Eventually, he moved to a different town to the north, and I moved to another town to the south, and I stopped going. But now his son, 8 years old , is playing, and I try to get to those games from time to time.

Then I started to watch the Boston Celtics games. I had watched some basketball on television in the days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish, but raising kids and correcting papers often got in the way, so my viewing was intermittent.

Since I retired 2 years ago, I don't think I've missed more than one Celtics game. I'm in love. I love the action and the excitement. I love the skill and athleticism. I love watching alley-oop shots executed with finesse between Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett or Shaquille O'Neal. I love watching Ray Allen make 3-point shots with ease. (He now holds the NBA record!) I love watching Kendrick Perkins grab rebounds. I love seeing Paul Pierce make his fade-away jump shots. I love seeing Glen Davis take a charge and land on the floor for his team (He leads the NBA in charges taken this year).

The Celtics are my team, but I have favorite players on other teams like Kobe Bryant,of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, and Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat. (Confession: those guys are favorites because they are excellent players and also happen to be gorgeous!)

Yep! Basketball is a sport that's teeming with eye candy!