Spoiled Rotten

I played the game. This is the only photographic evidence I could find.

That’s me, number 22, doing my best, jumping as high as I possibly could. As you can see, not quite high enough. Sums up my brief playing career pretty well. Not quite good enough.

Oh, I had my moments. The most I ever recall scoring in a high school game was 28 points, but that was junior varsity. Scoring opportunities were harder to come by once I made varsity. Hell, playing time was harder to come by. I rode the pine more than I ever had. When I did see the floor, I certainly wasn’t dominating anyone.

Upon graduating from high school, I headed to college, paying my own way. There was no athletic scholarship, or any other kind. I chose the University of Wisconsin, to study, not to play. But having grown up a Badger fan, I became one of the faithful 5,000 attending every men’s basketball game. Those were down times for UW sports. The Badgers didn’t win Big Ten championships in those days, never made the Big Dance—ot…