Baller 21

If You Could Get One Game Back

by Chris Harvey on 12/16/08

Do you ever reminisce about your playing days (t-ball, grade school, high school, college, or beyond) and that game that you really blew it?

Maybe you missed a free throw, dropped a pop fly, fumbled a ball, got beat on defense, or just lost your cool.

If you could get one game back, which would it be?

There are plenty of games, as I look back in retrospect (like my whole college career, my shot was broken), that I would want back, but I’ll give you one game.

High School Playoff Game // Junior Year
My Junior year of basketball was going pretty well. I made all-league and all-county in our area. We beat our league rivals (with a guy who went on to Oregon State and then drafted by the Bulls) and then headed to the playoffs.

Our goal was to make it the Finals, which was played at a professional stadium in Anaheim (formerly the Pond). We had a first round home game and won easily. Second round was away at Westlake.

I was feeling really good this game. I had a ton of energy and didn’t come out the entire game. The game was in reach and coming down to the wire. My time to shine came when I was fouled and sent to the line for a one and one and a chance to tie the game with a few seconds left.

My first shot felt good, but I missed! Other team rebounded, we fouled, and they made the free-throws. We did have a final shot at the end but we missed the desperation shot and lost. We had a ton of seniors on that team and I felt like I personally let them down.

If we won, we would have played our league rivals (who we beat already that year), and one game away from the finals (league rivals won it all that year).

I would have loved to get that game back. So many little mistakes throughout the game despite the shots at the end. We were good enough to beat that team without the need of last second shots.

But the truth is that I can’t get that game back or any other life experience.

I can only learn from these experiences and move forward a better person.

So…if you could get one game back which would it be? What did you learn from the experience?

C.Harv