Competition

On Saturday, Addie and I saw the Bucks lose to Golden State, 119–99. In the third quarter, the Warriors scored 41 points — the most ever scored against the Bucks in one quarter — and the Bucks committed nine turnovers. Being there, it seemed like more. It was awful to see a competitive game in the first half and a blowout in the second. Really, my team doesn't need to win for me to be happy. Nothing beats the excitement of a close, well-played game, regardless of the result. But for a game to be close, don't both teams need to play as if something's at stake?

The good news: Baron Davis, wearing a shoulder brace and an elbow brace and what looked like orthopedic shoes, zipped through traffic and made some athletic shots. We tried not to applaud. Because, as Michelle reminded me when I once clapped for Tim Duncan, we don't reward individual achievement in basketball. Good point. But maybe we should – as in, cheer for a player who's in his fourth game in five days but still looks like he cares about the sport? On a more positive note: props to the Greendale High School band for their performance of the national anthem. It was really good and probably my favorite part of the game.

Now, on to my own riveting sports news: After getting up at 4 a.m. to drive my parents to the airport (which was as excruciating as watching the Bucks) and then sleeping a couple more hours, I went to the club to play tennis — mixed doubles. Chris and I played against Dan and Dale (Dale is a girl, by the way). We squeaked by with the first set, 6–4. My favorite points: when I hit a deep crosscourt return and then Chris put away the winner. Doubles is challenging for me; I've never been good at team sports. (Or individual sports, for that matter.) The next set, we were down 4–0 and then made a quiet comeback. Point by point, game by game. It was some great tennis, but I can't remember exactly what happened. (Hey, I'm not an analyst.) Alas, we lost, 7–5. And then we were down 3–0 in the third set when our court time ended. Oh, the possibilities! Would we have won a few games but still fallen short? Barely eked out a win? Who knows. Stay tuned for the rematch.

After lunch and a nap, I turned on the TV to witness another hometown upset. I'm not into football (if I were, I'd be a Packer fan), but I was hopeful when the Giants missed the kick at the end of regulation. I was dying to see who'd win, but too close a competition makes me anxious. Being a sports fan can be exhausting: did you ever notice that no one says, in the middle of an intense competition, "It's just a game"? That's the rationalization of the defeated. So I channel surfed. Unfortunately, I flipped back just in time to see the Giants make the game-winning kick. Sigh. It was a weekend of sports heartbreak, of games won and lost. Such is life. Now I'm off to play singles against the Russian Hammer. Wish me luck.