Few folks, who have never lived in Indiana, will ever know how important a basket ball goal, is to a adolescent male. That solitary goal standing in the driveway, alley or backyard became either the escape from or entrance to, social acceptance. A simple game of Horse could turn in to a full fledged three on three , depending on the number of available young men passing by. Just as well, practicing one’s free throw shots could become hours of alone time.
In the area I grew up in Indiana, teenage boys, fell in to two groups. The ones that played on the school basketball team and the ones that did not. This is not to say that if you didn’t make the team one year, you would not aspire to make the cut for the upcoming season. Practice was always on the mind of either of these groups. So, shooting a basketball at a metal hoop attached to a stationary object was the main pastime of most boys in my neighborhood. It was a pastime that could be done alone or added to, as the day progressed. By the time we reached our Freshman year in High School it was pretty apparent who would be on the team and who would not. This did not diminish the hours that most guys spent at their goal just for fun.
“Getting up a game” was accomplished by grabbing a basketball and mounting your bike for a ride up and down the nearby streets. It didn’t take long for a group a guys riding down the street carrying basketballs to attract a following. In those days most of my friends hung out on their front or back porch when at home. The simple process of riding by and yelling “getting up a game” was generally enough to illicit immediate response to a few dedicated hoopsters. Occasionally, these inquiries attracted more than a few participants, in which case, we redirected our efforts to one of the schools nearby, that always had a court waiting patiently to be used.
Playing basketball in Indiana was a given, for athletically inclined boys. Even for those who chose not to participate, the loosely organized outing , was a social gathering. Some guys just came to watch and talk. The group playing never included girls, and as well, the group watching, rarely ever did. There was something uniquely male about this activity. The issues of the day, like the latest 45 record or teachers at school, were some of the interests that we discussed as the game progressed.
Only now, as I reflect on those times, do I realize how important those social building blocks were in my upbringing. Without being aware of it, we were learning things like team building, entrance into a hierarchy, pier approval, athletic stamina and social acceptance. It was not so important who won or lost, there was always another game tomorrow, it was how we all interacted at that moment to accomplish a collective goal.
Much has been written about the obsession with basketball in Indiana. I think it is not so much an obsession as it is an ingrained characteristic. Hoosiers are universally known as good and decent folks with a tolerance for other ways of life. I think some of that can be traced back to our experiences on the basketball court. Something like a round rubber orange ball and a metal hoop and a collective goal, could it be that simple?
