Game 49

​CHI 110               DEN 115

As we pulled through the gate,
Everyone on the bus got real quiet--

Everyone except Kevin,
Of course.

Hey Coach,
I think that fence
Is supposed to keep
People like us
Out.

Lucky we got this yellow bus.

Shit,
I need to get me one of these.

About half of us laughed.
He was right.

Lides chimed in:
I think my daddy
Built this fence.

Kevin:
Fool,
You don’t know your daddy.

Again
About half of us laughed.

Again
He was right.

Walking into the school
Was even weirder.

This was a straight-up
Professional-level
Athletic training facility.

Damn.
We’re gonna get our ass kicked.

In the locker room--
That was clean
And had showers
Instead of rats--

Coach gave a speech
About how we
Belonged here--

About how
All this stuff
Is just stuff.

And that
Stuff
Doesn’t show strength of character.

And how
Once we get out on the court,
It doesn’t matter
Where we come from.

And I could tell
How bad
A few of these kids
Wanted to believe him.

How bad
He wanted to believe it
Himself.

Rough game.

We slouched into halftime
Down forty-five.

And then,
In the third quarter,
Lides rolled his ankle
And was lost for the season.

Their cheerleaders
Cheered for him
Like they had practiced it.

They called him a
Mighty Panther
While he cried
On the floor.

And one of many fathers in the crowd--
A doctor--
Rushed over to help.

Examined him.

Comforted him.
And told him
That everything was going to be alright.

And I could tell
How bad
A few of these kids
Wanted to believe him.

How bad
He wanted to believe it
Himself.