First, let me apologize right now to the young men that were playing at the Expressway Park basketball court in Baton Rouge earlier this week. The old dude in the truck that turned the corner real slow while peering out the window watching y’all play was me.
I realize that given the times we live in, that could have been a little disconcerting.
As a matter of fact, I made the block a second time. Hopefully, you were so into your game, you didn’t notice me. But I was so excited to see you hooping.
More than 40 years ago, I played on that very court.
Matter of fact, I was so happy to see young people playing basketball at Expressway Park, I drove about two blocks west to the old South Boulevard Elementary School court. No one was playing. I haven’t seen games there in years. How sad.
This is not a column about the perils of race or class or government. It is rather about another simple, fun piece of life that is virtually gone.
During my youth, I would join dozens of boys, young men and girls to play on that school campus. Some days people were there from midmorning to sundown. You would have the stars, the thought-they-were-stars, the future stars and the fading stars on those courts. And some just wanted to play.
To some, being on the basketball court was almost a religious experience. That’s not the case anymore.
ESPN did a story years ago saying that “playground basketball, at least as we knew it, is dying.” Children have turned to organized games in gymnasiums. High school kids, in search of scholarships, don’t play outside. And, more importantly, you can’t put a metal detector at the outside parks.
Over in Hammond, the mayor closed the courts at Martin Luther King Jr. Park because of two shootings in three days there back in August. That’s the predicament now.
It’s painful to see empty courts around town. Some closed because of violence and drug use, others because folks let the courts fall into disrepair.
Unfortunately, this is the case at so many outdoor basketball courts, in community after community.
In earlier times, there would be more than 50 young people on Saturdays and Sundays on the South Boulevard courts, playing basketball or just watching. At times, the girls had at least a half court of their own.
Those on the sidelines talked sports and neighborhood news, laughed and play the “dozens” (Google it). Some folks, old and young, came over to the court with no intention of playing. They just wanted to watch, talk and be part of the energy there.
Very seldom would a fight occur. But when it did, it was usually over quickly and the game proceeded, often with the two combatants continuing to play.
After some games, several of the older guys would sit around and talk sports, politics, race relations, jobs, and yes, girlfriends and potential girlfriends. It was great to be young and watch them, listen to them and learn by example.
Because there were no cellphones then, parents would often send someone to tell their child to come home. Sometimes people would leave because they had a nonnegotiable time to be home. Other times, parents would drive by the court and you’d see young folks dash to the cars, without pleading for “one more game.”
According to the Baton Rouge Recreation of Parks Commission, there are 132 half courts and 44 full courts outdoors in the parish. I’m happy about it, but I wonder about the participation level at some of those locations.
I loved those courts and I know lots of folks in my age group did too. Maybe I’ll get a group together — Scully, Bo-Leg and I — that will hit Expressway Park for a three-on-three game against the young fellas and show them something.
Or, we’ll just stay in my truck, watch and remember.
Email Edward Pratt, a former newspaperman, at epratt1972@yahoo.com.