Every year since he was in 2nd grade, Jeff has partaken in Spokane, Washington's annual
Hoopfest. The first summer we were dating, I was in Alaska during the tournament and I assumed it was just a little 3-on-3 basketball tournament - similar to the ones in the church parking lot growing up. Little did I know, Hoopfest was beyond big! Jeff and his buddies have played together for years. There passion for the event has grown from being 8 years old trying to have enough strength to get the ball high enough to have a chance at going in, to progressing to junior high/high school where the competition was tough and losing was not an option, to now - 26 years old, hoping you are sober enough to play and trying to have the funniest costume in hopes that the local TV station and/or newspaper might swing by their court and they can get their 15 seconds of fame.
In all seriousness though, this tournament is absolutely amazing! They completely shut down the streets throughout the entire downtown area of Spokane and set up over 400 half courts. There are over 27,000 participants ranging in ages from 7 to well, let's just say old. And, supposedly it brings in over $42 million in revenue to the local area. It's pretty phenomenal and Jeff was so lucky to have grown up experiencing something like this. Actually, the feeling I get being there is similar to the feeling that I get when I watch a marathon - seeing people devote so much to a sport and seeing people come together from all walks of life, income levels, stages in life, etc. for something as enjoyable as this. It is such a testament of community. It's pretty inspiring (as you can see from this picture, Jeff and Jeremy were inspired to take a nap).
Anyway, Jeff and I headed up to Spokane for the festivities again this year and it did not disappoint. We had a blast catching up with all of Jeff's high school friends. And, the boys decided it would be a good idea to wear sleeping bags in the 90 degree weather as their uniforms - seriously, they wore this! It was hillarious! For the first time, this year I started thinking about the possibility of some day watching my own children play in the annual Spokane Hoopfest. Maybe we would even have a family team, ha! I love getting to make these memories that will last a lifetime and think about the possibilities of the future during my
Life As A Wife.
Every year since he was in 2nd grade, Jeff has partaken in Spokane, Washington's annual Hoopfest. The first summer we were dating, I was in Alaska during the tournament and I assumed it was just a little 3-on-3 basketball tournament - similar to the ones in the church parking lot growing up. Little did I know, Hoopfest was beyond big! Jeff and his buddies have played together for years. There passion for the event has grown from being 8 years old trying to have enough strength to get the ball high enough to have a chance at going in, to progressing to junior high/high school where the competition was tough and losing was not an option, to now - 26 years old, hoping you are sober enough to play and trying to have the funniest costume in hopes that the local TV station and/or newspaper might swing by their court and they can get their 15 seconds of fame.
In all seriousness though, this tournament is absolutely amazing! They completely shut down the streets throughout the entire downtown area of Spokane and set up over 400 half courts. There are over 27,000 participants ranging in ages from 7 to well, let's just say old. And, supposedly it brings in over $42 million in revenue to the local area. It's pretty phenomenal and Jeff was so lucky to have grown up experiencing something like this. Actually, the feeling I get being there is similar to the feeling that I get when I watch a marathon - seeing people devote so much to a sport and seeing people come together from all walks of life, income levels, stages in life, etc. for something as enjoyable as this. It is such a testament of community. It's pretty inspiring (as you can see from this picture, Jeff and Jeremy were inspired to take a nap).
Anyway, Jeff and I headed up to Spokane for the festivities again this year and it did not disappoint. We had a blast catching up with all of Jeff's high school friends. And, the boys decided it would be a good idea to wear sleeping bags in the 90 degree weather as their uniforms - seriously, they wore this! It was hillarious! For the first time, this year I started thinking about the possibility of some day watching my own children play in the annual Spokane Hoopfest. Maybe we would even have a family team, ha! I love getting to make these memories that will last a lifetime and think about the possibilities of the future during my Life As A Wife.
1 comment:
lol...sleeping bags? really?? jeff cracks me up. i'm glad you got to go to hoopfest!
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