Saturday, December 19- Xavier vs. Canisius

  Okay, well, remember when I said I wasn't really into basketball?  Well, I wasn't then, but, I am now.  Xavier's men's team has made me a fan.  I've been watching their games on TV and closely tracking their progress through various WWW sites.  My dad, observing this, accepted free tickets in the alumni section of the Gardens' at the December 19th game against Canisius.  It was truly an experience- one I think my sports' hating father even enjoyed!
    The people sitting around us introduced themselves to us, since we were newcomers and really weren't supposed to be there.  Each of the season ticket holders has to become a member of the 'All For One Club' which is really a ploy to get people to give Xavier money.   For the people around us, it was a socializing event.  I was there to watch all the guy's in their little shorts.   Hrmph, rather, I was there to watch the basketball game, which, either Xavier was really good that night or Canisius was really bad, (I'm inclined to believe it was a combo of the two) but Xavier ended up winning by 30 points, 88-58.  By the second half, even Dad was cheering. (Perhaps that half-time beer had something to do with that?)
    Here's a little commentary from someone who doesn't know that much about basketball and doesn't claim to.  But, goddamn!  Canisius has a player named Matt Tribull who I think should really be a Romanian bodybuilder rather than a basketball player.  The guy stepped out onto the court and made everyone there look like Barbie's playmate, Ken.  Seriously, this guy was huge!  Anyway, Canisius really should have made a better attempt in the shooting department- there were hardly any side shots attempted.  They did seem to have some good three pointers, but, then again, so did Xavier.  Xavier seemed to be on the ball that night, pardon the pun, but then again, Canisius seemed to not know what to do with the ball.
    Perhaps the most amusing part of the night was the half-time show with the little Silly Slammers Slam Dunk Contest.  I happened to stumble upon the Xavier gave that was sponsored by Silly Slammers (which are very adorable toys and would have liked to have gotten one, but, they were for children 14 years and younger).  Well, they brought out one of those miniature basketball hoops for toddlers which have now since been banned because children are being strangled in them and let three little toddlers slam dunk some baskets.  The third kid was so amusing, in her Dr. Seuss get up, that I roared with laughter.  Such a cute kid.  Each kid got a toy and had to hug the Silly Slammer mascots, which looked rather like big Easter eggs.
    Over all, a fun night.  It's always best when the team you're rooting for wins.