My previous few writings have been filled with difficult images and oppressive musings. Today I want to write about something a little more uplifting. Yes, I have written about basketball here before but none of my previous descriptions compares to the emotions and experiences this time. The scene last night was one I can only hope to capture a fraction of in words. The caravan rolled down the streets of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem and into Dheisheh after 1 in the morning including 5 packed buses, some with fans cheering from on top and various cars and taxis with fans and players hanging out of the windows. The slow parade down the streets with horns blaring, singing, and cheering accompanied the Palestine Cup back to Ibdaa. I can now add a national championship to my resume! Never, ever, in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that it would come in Palestine. What a game! Such a sense of honor and pride for the people of Ibdaa. With this basketball team they really have, as the translation of their name suggests, created something out of nothing. And I was honored that I got to be a part of it.

The fans in the stands were divided into two screaming sections, each with huge bass drums and air horns filling the air with various rackets. The swirling Palestinian dancers, leaping and twirling started the evening. The team entered with Palestinian youth carrying tiny flags and flowers. Earlier in the day I had hopped a cab to Bethlehem and bought a white dress shirt and a blue tie. The team got quite a kick out of the fact that I was wearing a shirt and tie to the game.

The game started off as a seesaw back and forth between the teams, with Syria Ramallah leading for most of the first half and Iad picking up a quick 3 fouls that forced us to sit him for most of the second quarter. Ramallah features an arsenal of offensive weapons, from their three big men who can all shoot from outside to their two guards who can both handle the ball and shoot. Ramallah led 37-30 at half time. But Ibdaa slowly chipped away at the lead and was only down by 3 at the end of the third quarter. In an offensive spurt with 5 minutes left in the game Ibdaa took the lead, the fans screaming at every play. YaHya drained shot after shot, Iad grabbed the rebounds and Abu Yusef continued to take the ball to the basket and draw fouls that put him on the free throw line. I crouched on the sideline as, up by 8 with less than a minute to go one of Ramallah's guards hit an incredible three point shot while falling to the ground and getting fouled in the process. After he made the free throw and brought the game within 4 Ibdaa stepped up its defense and as the seconds ticked away the game was assured when Abdallah swished throw his second three-pointer of the game and everyone went wild. With all arms raised in unison, the players, the bench, the fans and I watched as YaHya threw the ball at the basket from half court to run out the clock.

Pandemonium rushed the court as the riot police surrounded the area. The players jumping about, hugging each other and standing in front of the more than 500 Ibdaa fans and leading the roaring cheers. They raised Asam and I on their shoulders. The Cup of Palestine, a huge silver trophy with a gold cord that circles up around its curved sides was presented to the team. Iad received the MVP trophy, a small crystal basketball sitting atop the crystal. Congratulations flowed from every which way and I was grasped in several very sweaty embraces that soaked my white shirt through. The two most emotional of the embraces came from Iad who caught me a few times but once outside the stadium where he hugged me and then looked down and said one word, "heart". The evening before in our team meeting I had talked about how the team with the most heart would win. I also told a brief story of my father and how he taught me to play basketball and that I kept his memory with me when I was on the court. YaHya also lost his father a few years ago and later, after we were on our way back to Ibdaa he conveyed with his tiny English vocabulary how that story had touched him. He needed no words though since I immediately knew what he was talking about.

There is so much more to write but I was so exhausted after the game that I slept till noon and then worked with all the video footage from the game and then went to a wedding so while I have many notes to write down (plus the fact that I have now appeared in several prominent Palestinian newspapers) I must end this entry for today. I also just wanted to put something up since I hadn't in a few days and I don't want anyone to worry. I will be working on getting some video and new photos up as soon as possible regarding the game and a few other daily experiences here.