Let’s face it. Nerf Basketball was intended to be a cheap, mass-produced gimmick that promised minutes of entertainment. What actually resulted was years of hard-fought, full-contact, sweat-producing competition with complex rules you established with your brothers and friends to accommodate bank shots, 3-pointers and other trick shots. Goaltending – optional. Fouls – maybe. What might begin innocently enough as a friendly game of horse would soon turn into a floor-shaking, wall-rattling slamfest.
However, for my inner circle, Nerf Hoop will go down as the nutshot heard ’round the world. A knee to the groin (courtesy of C. Lubbe) that resulted in a mother’s consultation, ice and that feeling of fainting oh so close. And laughter from C. He’s still laughing.
(dramatization)
Nerf Basketball also inspired the taking of other indoor, toy basketball games to new levels. Particularly the Little Tykes basketball hoop that we macgyvered by elevating the entire unit another 3 feet or so and set up in the garage:
(representational only)
And then my brother’s classic Chicago Bulls Mini-Hoop.
(representational, not exactly like the one we had)
My propensity for tracking statistics and creating games lead to some less physically intensive Nerf contests. See artifacts below.
Finally, the Nerf obsession lead to the transition of the Chicago Bulls Mini-Hoop to the dorm room (accompanied by Charlie Spoonhour spoonballs), bringing naysayers and fans alike to 717. The famous traveling Cow Trophy (inspired by J. Eckert) associated with our group’s free throw contests is said to still exist and may make an appearance on this site in the future. Stay tuned.