What’s in a game

by Eric Pfahler

The clock is frozen with 17 seconds remaining. Brian Mollenshott, the Shockers’ starting forward, is at the line shooting a pressure-packed one and one. The Shockers trail Roc La Familia 46-45 in a crucial season contest. Lose this game, and the team will need to win two of its final three games just to make the playoffs, much less the championship it desired.

The Shockers began the season with high aspirations after making the semifinals in their inaugural season last year. Now the team has experience under its belt and hoped to take the title, but the season and the championship could vanish this instant if Mollenshott does not pull through.

The first shot rolls off his finger toward the tiny bucket 15 feet away. Swish! Confidence oozes from the Shockers’ bench like sweat.

Mollenshott bounces the sphere hard against the floor. The shot is up and finds the net like a heat-seeking missile. Whoosh! The sideline roars with excitement, but the Shockers know the team needs one last stand to clinch the game. One glitch could prove fatal.

The Roc’s guard takes the ball up the court, fakes left, sprints right and dashes toward the rim with the same recklessness as the driver of a stolen Porsche. But Mollenshott is there again and authoritatively swats the ball out of bounds. With only three seconds remaining, Roc is poorly organized. The team fails to get a shot after the inbounds pass against the stifling Shockers defense.

The Shockers win! The Shockers win!

The Shockers, however, are not an NBA franchise budding toward a playoff berth. The team never will be a March Madness participant. This almost certainly will be the only publication on this game.

The game was an intramural match that took place at the Ping Center between two groups of guys who wanted to play. But intramural does not mean it does not matter, at least to the players that are involved. There’s no doubt about it, most (not counting those who choose to participate inebriated) are out there to win and play hard. The difference is they do not try to win at all costs, because money and attention can build pressure.

Just because these athletes are not represented in Nike endorsements or given multi-million dollar contracts does not mean they do not cherish the moments when they can feel above the game.

Mollenshott might never forget the moment he clinched victory for his squad with a spectacular defensive effort and mime-like poise. His teammates might not lose the memories of how their individual efforts helped aid the team’s win. Students across campus can probably remember some athletic feat they achieved during the course of their life or a time when they felt as if they were playing in game seven of the NBA Finals.

So the next time you’re walking around Ping, take a look around. You might just see what that kid in your English class is daydreaming about the next day.

- Eric Pfahler is sophomore journalism major who loves intramural competition. Send him an e-mail at Airic81@aol.com