My Journey To The Raptors Game

I received two great gifts last week, among which a ticket to the Raptors game. In fact, I had an option to bring a friend. However, it was on a short notice that, the few friends I talked to were not able to make it. So, I went alone.

I know the Raptors are now out of the Playoffs picture, but an NBA game is still fun to watch live. They were playing Carmelo Antony's New York Knicks. This guy can score at will. He is really impressive.

Getting to the Air Canada Centre, I couldn't help but remember many years ago in Burundi watching the game on TV with friends late night (I mean, really late), and now I can see it...live in person. It's mind blowing.

Every year in June, we knew it was the NBA Finals. In my network of friends only my friend Kennedy had access to NBA games. So, ten, sometimes fifteen of us would gather at his house (and this happened for years) at least three times a week to watch the games. Kennedy was so used to us coming that he had food ready, even a bed for those who wanted to sleep before the games came on TV. I am talking 1 am or 3 am depending on the game. Kennedy was (and still is) an awesome guy.

I remember going to Kennedy's with my friend Kijanya. He went to sleep a few hours before the game and asked us to wake him up when the game starts. So we did. But he was so deep in his sleep that he requested to wake him up later at half time. So we did. This time he just said: please wake me up when they are in overtime!!! How in the world did he know the game would go to overtime? Long story short, he never watched the game. He slept all the way.

Sometimes the game would end at 6 am, and we had to go to work at 7.30 in the morning. At that time my friend Ziaddy and I were high school teachers and it was during exams. Can you imagine us standing for hours while waiting for the students to finish their exams knowing that we did not sleep at all at night? It was challenging man! But we did it.

That is what happens when you have passion for something. Time doesn't matter. Sleep? What's that? Everything seems to stop when you know you're doing what you love to do. I would leave work at 1.30 pm, and I was on the Basketball court from 2.30 to 6 pm, them at 7 pm, I was at my other job at the radio station...I remember my manager coming to me to remind me that I had to take my vacations otherwise I would loose them. The word “vacation” was not in my vocabulary because I was doing stuff I loved to do that it did not seem I was working.

What's your passion? What it is that you would do, even for free, and still have fun (and sleepless nights). It is a good question to ask ourselves. Once we find an answer for that, life will never be the same.

Moral of the story? Do you want to find your passion? Go to an NBA game and you will spend sleepless nights.

Always a pleasure

Patrick

The Journeyman