I went to see the Goldfields Giants play the Cockburn Cougars in the WA State Basketball League tonight. Basketball is another game I never played or watched as a child. It’s taken off in Australia though over the past 20 years and seems to have a strong following in certain areas.
Mid-size towns like Kalgoorlie offer a natural support base because they usually don’t have any other teams representing them in top-level competitions.
There were 650 people at the Brookman Street Stadium and it was a great atmosphere. I took Michael and two of this friends and they really enjoyed it.
Whereas I used to jump the fence to watch Traralgon play Australian football, my son is madly into soccer and basketball.
The Giants won 93-73. The kids ran onto the court afterwards and chased autographs. Michael has Jimmy Bowler’s name signed in texta on his arm and reckons he won’t have a shower until it’s gone. That’s a disturbing thought.
Jimmy is one of the shortest Giants and shot eight three-pointers tonight.
