-26

i remember basketball.
when i was at school i couldn’t play basketball, i was the epitome of white men can’t jump (and in my case catch, pass or block – i was a natural born rugby forward). for most of my teens and twenties basketball was a sport i knew nothing about.
sometime in my 30s i got hooked.
the reason?
it was about the time i started clubbing, and when i came home at 3am or so, to sit down for a coffee (it relaxes me) i would watch the tv. alton byrd would introduce a late night highlight show of the week’s nba action. watching michael jordan, patrick ewing and charles barkley perform magic with the rock (as the ball was called).
it was a fast, furious game. a game that mostly rewarded territorial domination. aside from that i got to see jordan fly, there were moments when my jaw dropped.
from this it lead to supporting a new london basketball team the playboy tv london leopards.
for several years i was there at every home game and as many away games as i could manage. i screamed myself hoarse.
i wore the club vest with pride, i got all puffed up when the players recognised me.
i nearly cried the night that manchester beat us at home, stopping us from progressing to the finals.
i danced (and fell over) at the london towers as we came back from a 27-point deficit to sneak a win in extra time.
i nearly got ejected from the sheffield arena as i was bouncing up and down during a tense final. i was a bundle of nerves and couldn’t sit or stand still. we won. in birmingham i got some nasty looks as i bellowed of “you’re not singing any more”,
as we once again came back from a deficit to win.
sadly declining attendances and a dodgy future for the london arena meant the team moved and soon was made a defunct team.

the night of the canary wharf bombing i was on the dlr panicking about missing the start of the cross-town rivalry match between the leopards and london towers. the dlr stopped at canary wharf and wasn’t going anywhere. as there were no announcements i got out of the station sharpish and started my run towards the london arena. it was a bit chilly, a bit overcast, but i didn’t care. i had to run and run my tits off.
just as i was getting up a head of steam:
BOOM.
bloody hell i thought, thunder! it is going to piss down, better hurry up.

“oi where do you think you are going?” shouts a voice. it is a friendly bobby telling me there has just been an ira bomb and i shouldn’t be here.

me all i could think of was getting to the game. i did. can’t remember the result, but i can remember thinking at half time what an idiot i was.

happy days.