I never thought that my first date in Spain would be with a dude. Now, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain. My "date" consisted of Dartmouth sailor John Renehan '13, two Spanish college students, a basketball court and me. But I wasn't trying to wine and dine anyone on this sunny afternoon. Ballin' was my only concern.
After hearing my story, someone asked me, "Hollisto, how did you end up in this situation? You're walking halfway across the town to meet up with two random Spaniards. They don't speak English and you met them at a bar. For all you know, these two guys could be like the Europeans from Taken' [(2008)] and you're actually 10 minutes away from being sold into the sex trade."
Let me start from the beginning.
Although this situation sounds sketchy, I had complete faith in my new Spanish friends when they asked me to play some weekly b-ball with them. It might sound strange, but basketball is the second most popular sport here. I could see the genuine passion in their eyes when we started talking about the NBA. They sincerely loved the sport and they really wanted to find someone to shoot around with.
But let me tell you, playing basketball in Spain is sort of like playing with Luigi in Super Mario World. Everyone knows and loves both, but everyone wants to play with the better looking and more popular brother, Mario. If Mario is taken, however, I don't know anyone who will give up their controller instead of playing with Luigi. Basketball in Salamanca is simply a temporary replacement for soccer. When there isn't enough space for a pickup soccer game, people here shoot hoops.
I stumbled into my basketball friendship by accident. Whenever I go out to bars in the city, I'm always approached by a large number of men who want to talk about basketball. I'm usually minding my own business, but they come out to me and shout, "You look like Louis Bullock from Seville! He's my favorite basketball player!"
At first I thought that I was in a very racist country. It was beginning to seem like the general perception here was that every black man looked the same and loved to play basketball.
I was definitely skeptical of the number of conversations I was having about this one basketball player, but I Googled Bullock the other day and I do actually resemble him. He's an American-born player who is currently dominating the professional Spanish ACB League.
My resemblance to Bullock automatically makes me popular wherever I go. I'm always surrounded by Spaniards, swapping ball stories and talking trash about my least favorite NBA teams (Celtics, Lakers). The one drawback is I never actually get a chance to talk to any ladies because I'm constantly debating the validity of the Orlando Magic or the greatness of Dwight Howard.
I started seeing a few of the same faces every week and they eventually invited me to play basketball with them. I have never once claimed that I'm good at basketball. As a matter of fact, I'm terrible. When I play with the guys on the football team, I'm always the last pick.
Despite my lack of skill, I dominated the pickup game that I played with my newly-acquired bar friends. It was a refreshing change after getting crushed by the same set of Spaniards during a soccer match. Oddly enough, we played basketball on the same concrete playground that hosts our soccer games. This time, however, I owned the pavement.
Although we started slow, Renehan and I rallied to win the first game. The second game was pure domination. I did my best Dwayne Wade impression and took over. We were up 11-0 before we decided that America vs. Spain was not a fair matchup.
In addition to inflating my already large head, the game taught me why the Spanish love basketball so much. It is truly an international sport almost anyone can get excited over a monstrous dunk or a crisp jumper.
Basketball and soccer's popularity dwarfs almost every other sport because both are easy to pick up and play. Neither sport has complicated rules like football or requires an absurd amount of equipment like lacrosse and hockey. You can practice both the sports in an open space with a flat surface.
Although I'm technically here to learn Spanish, I'm pretty sure my basketball game is going to improve more. I don't mind it, though I'd take the courts over the classroom any day.
