Hoop Dreams

HOOP DREAMS

JOE PANCAKE played basketball in high school. During his years in the army, he'd put the game on hold. But then, in college, he picked it up again; and by the time he graduated, he'd been getting together regularly--almost daily--with friends for an hour or two. And play and play and play. Hard. He sweated tremendously, his socks stunk. Years later, after college and after he'd given up the game altogether--for the last time--he'd dream of playing basketball. Joe had some of his best games in those dreams: pick-up games on the asphalt, or in the gym, or sometimes in a packed arena. With crowds in a frenzy.
One night, he teamed with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (this was a dream, remember), and together they ran their opponents into the ground: passing, dribbling, shooting, rebounding; defense. They did it all. Kareem would feed Joe as he cut down the lane; Joe'd take the pass and challenge the defender (Moses Malone was guarding him this one night), leaping high, straight up and toward the basket, and slamming it through the hoop.
When he woke up in the morning, Joe felt tired (as if he'd barely slept at all), but exhilarated. He could hardly wait until the next game. He could hardly wait to get to the office.