Driven by a love of the game

Small town veterinary clinics are often a great place to catch up on the happenings of the community. This day was no different; there was a group of county dwellers standing by the cow chute telling a story about ole Ralph. I knew the fella they were talking about and was laughing from the gut as the story unfolded.

First, some background. High school sports are a big deal in the part of America I live in. I raised three daughters who played basketball every Tuesday and Friday night in gyms within a hundred miles or so of Lamesa. In these parts, people in the stands take these games way too serious. I've seen so many people kicked out of basketball games that it's almost unbelievable. I myself have a tendency to get a little too worked up.

When the girls first started playing, I would scream and holler and get carried away to the point that I was embarrassed when the game was over. I decided to buy a camera and start taking pictures-that way I could only see the segment of the game that was occurring though the viewer on the back of the camera and this kept me from scrutinizing the referees. For a while, this worked. But eventually I would put the camera down and start hollering anyway.

As the years passed, I learned it was best to just leave. If you know anyone who attended basketball games at Klondike High School from 2006 to 2012, they will tell you that I left a lot of basketball games. It was almost a given. If Bo was walking toward the door, the game was close and he was leaving because it was just a matter of time before he started hollerin' at the ref.

But at least I could control myself. Ole Ralph couldn't. That guy loved to go to basketball games, and he loved to holler at the refs. In fact, I think it was his favorite thing to do in life. I had seen that rascal kicked out of at least 20 basketball games. He'd get kicked out even when his team was winning. It was amazing. He's the kindest, most meek man you'll meet-until the first whistle blows and his team takes the court.

Ralph is from a community that's a huge rival of Klondike. Most of the time we would beat his team so we got to see him turn red and scream. I always thought he was the most obnoxious fan in the world, and the story I was hearing by the cow chute confirmed that fact.

Seems that he and his wife were headed to Dallas one Friday to visit some friends and family. Along the way they passed through a small town and Ralph noticed the gym parking lot was packed with cars. Ralph told his wife they should stop and watch the basketball game.

Stop in a little town 200 miles from home on a Friday night where you don't know a soul, just to watch a basketball game? Come on, Ralph. His wife had reservations about the situation but, before she could stop him, Ralph was parked and they were heading inside.

No one standing around the cow chute knew what happened to get him fired up, but the story ended with Ralph getting kicked out of the basketball game.

Just think about it. Ralph is watching high school basketball 200 miles from home, in a town where he doesn't know a single person, and he gets kicked out of the game. You just have to wonder what the fans were thinking as some guy that no one on either side of the gym knows hollered so much he got ejected.

I have to admit, it makes me laugh every time I think about it. I think Ralph needs to start taking pictures when he goes to a game and if he can't, he just needs to get up and leave. Maybe I'll loan him my camera.