A Little Game of Basketball

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  Taichung, Taiwan
Sunday, June 29, 2008

Today was an excellent example of how karma can come and steal all of the positive thunder away from you.

This afternoon I received a phone call on my pay-as-you-go cellphone asking if I would be interested in going to the local university and playing some pick-up basketball at the park.  Being one to never shy away from a spirited game of hoops, I happily obliged.  We agreed to meet at the park around 4pm on our motorscooters.

The park was very big and contained about 12 full-size basketball courts.  There was a rather large three-on-three tournament going on.  The tournament appeared to be organized by a semi-pro team because there were some absolutely huge Taiwanese people wearing very fancy uniforms and brand new sneakers coaching competing high school-aged kids

My foot

. 

It was kind of neat to see that the same kind of tournaments and crowds that gather in inner-city Racine or Milwaukee were going on right here in Taiwan.  There was a man with a microphone appearing to talk trash to everyone on the court, a whole crowd of people laughing at every cross-over dribble, and a lot of cheering as well.  It was a fun atmosphere to be in!

We found a court a ways down from all of the excitement and made gestures to some younger people who were already shooting around there to let them know that we wanted to join them.  They smiled and allowed us to shoot around.  They were impressed that we were able to touch the rim (though, in my case, sadly could not pull off the slam dunk).

No more than 10 minutes later, a group of three college-aged Taiwanese men approached our court and friendly gestured that they wanted to play.  So we started a game of three-on-three.  We had a pretty big height advantage on our team, and we won pretty handily.  However, by the time the game ended, about nine more guys were standing under our basket gesturing that they wanted to play against us.  Apparently everyone wanted to try their hand against these Americans who stopped in for a quick game.

I started the second game guarding a person who was somewhat shorter than I was.  It was a pretty good match-up, because what he lacked in height he made up for in speed.  However, about halfway through the game, I hit a fade-away jump shot and sort of jogged backward about to get into my defensive position.  As I was backpedaling, I heard a loud crack in my foot and I immediately fell to the pavement.  I knew that all too familiar sound and knew exactly what had happened... I had sprained my ankle.

I got off the court and tried to walk it off underneath the basketball hoop while someone else filled-in for my position on the team.  However, as I was walking, I noticed that my ankle was swelling severely to the point that I could see it start to stretch my sock into a different shape.  I knew this was bad.

I'm going to stop the story right here and explain where the bad karma comes into play.  Prior to the game, one of the teachers and I were talking about how we had left our basketball shoes at home.  I now regret saying this, but I had stated that, "We are in a country with free health care.  If I break a bone, it should be fixed relatively easily.  We don't need basketball shoes."  Little did I know that I am not on the health insurance plan until I become an official alien resident, and also that some Chinese members of our staff said that the hospital would likely not take my American insurance... oops...

After hobbling around for a while, I told all of the guys that I was going to go home and find some ice to put on my ankle while I elevated it.  On my way out, the team we were playing against approached me and pointed at my ankle.  Although none of us could speak the same language, I was touched by the fact that they showed concern and wanted to see how it was looking by gesturing for me to take off my sock.  They all made faces of disgust/sympathy when I showed them my foot.  However, we all shook hands and exchanged smiles when I left.  It never ceases to amaze me how sports can bring people of so many backgrounds and cultures together.

After purchasing a small bag of ice from the local 7-11, I got back to the hotel and elevated my foot.  Throughout the next week, my foot turned a rainbow of colors.  I was starting to get very concerned about whether or not I should see a doctor and how much money an x-ray was going to cost me.  Thankfully, the swelling dropped significantly, and within a week, my foot returned to the normal shape and color.  I am currently walking on it with no pain at all.  However, I do not plan on making anymore comments about health care nor do I plan on playing any sports without the aid of an ankle brace.  A definite close call.

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