Saturday April 2nd, 2011 - Stevens Point, WI/Milwaukee, WI As much as it might crush my delicate male ego, fact is fact. The closest this Caucasian will ever get to participating in professional athletics on this cosmic plane has passed, and I fell painfully short of my dream to be a star player in any sport. Most regular people do. The closest I will ever get to living that dream so many others have along with me was being an NBA ball boy in high school for two years for my home town Milwaukee Bucks. Even getting to do that was something most people never get a chance do, and it was fun. What made it especially fun was the great group of guys that was assembled for the two years I was there. It was a well rounded mixture of city and suburbs, white and black, Jew and gentile and just about every other diversion imaginable and we all got along together. Usually cherry jobs like that are reserved for coach’s kids or other inside people, but not this time. There was a contest announced on the radio for high school kids who wanted to be ball boys for the Bucks, and the requirements were to write a letter telling why we did. I must have spent three days coming up with mine, and I typed it out making sure there were no mistakes of any kind. I honestly thought I’d have no chance because of so many other entries, but I did get a call back and got to have an interview at the Bucks’ offices. There were quite a few of us there that day, and we were all giddy because we’d gotten a call back. Everyone was friendly, and we were told there was a limited number of jobs and not everyone was going to be hired. We’d get to win the job with our interview, and the losers would get sent home with a bag of Bucks souvenirs. It was an exciting process. I remember getting told I’d made it and feeling like a first round draft choice. In reality, all I was being hired to do was mop up sweat during the game of the real players who fell down on the court, but it was a labor of love and I’m thrilled I got a chance to participate. Many of us from that squad of ball boys have stayed in touch for going on 30 years now. One of our group has managed to make a career out of it and still works there today. He’s obviously not mopping up sweat anymore, but he has moved up the ranks in the office. His name is Wade Waugus and I think the world of the guy, as did everyone else when we were ball boys. He’s from Brookfield originally, and at first he acted like a very cocky suburban kid. Some of us thought he’d be the odd one out at first, but he ended up staying the longest by far. Wade is well known around town, and is synonymous with the Bucks. He’s just a super guy and you can’t help but like him. He plays in a band and loves loud rock and roll. AC/DC is his favorite, and I’m happy to say he’s never grown up. Today is his birthday, and I realized I haven’t seen him in a while and owe him a lunch or dinner or something just to stay in contact and hang out. He’s always come to see me perform over the years and is one of my favorite people ever. Friends like Wade are what life is about.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment