Free Hoop Crazy by Eric Walters

Nobody ever believes he isn’t older.”
    We crossed over a street, moving between other cars and trucks waiting to park. Up ahead I could see the courts — lots and lots of courts. Stretching out ahead set up in a parking lot were dozens and dozens of hoops.
    We passed by the first court. It had a little sign — Court 22 — above it. The backboard was covered with an ad for a shoe company. I looked at the nextbackboard, and the next, and the next. Each one was covered by an advertisement. It seemed like if you could wear it, bounce it, drink it, or play it, it was advertised on one of the backboards. Maybe they should —
    â€œOuch!” I said as Ned bumped into me.
    â€œSorry,” he apologized. “I was just looking around … there’s so many people … so much to see. How many courts are there?”
    â€œI don’t know, but I see a sign above that far one and it says sixty-six, so at least that many,” I said.
    â€œThey have to have that many. I heard there are going to be over six hundred teams here today,” Kia said.
    â€œWe’re competing against six hundred teams!” Ned exclaimed.
    â€œNo, of course not. That’s how many teams there are in all categories, all ages and both boys’ and girls’ teams.”
    â€œThere are girls’ teams?” Ned asked. “But …” he motioned to Kia.
    â€œWe’re a boys’ team. Think of me as a boy … just smarter and better-looking.”
    â€œGirls can be on a boys’ team. Boys can’t be on a girls’ team,” I explained.
    â€œDo you know how many teams will be in our category?” Ned asked.
    â€œWe’ll find out when we get our schedule,” myfather said. “Here’s the registration booth.”
    We stopped in front of an open-sided tent. There were tables at the sides and gigantic charts on the walls. Each chart represented one category. That was where all the scores would be listed after each game.
    I turned around to watch the activities while my father registered us. It had only been a few minutes since we started our walk across the area, but already it had gotten busier. A few kids were taking shots at different hoops. A big refreshment stand — the sign said it sold ‘dogs, burgers and cold drinks’ — opened up. A machine was turned on with a loud hiss and a gigantic inflatable basketball, already the size of a small house, was rising up.
    â€œI can’t believe how busy it is,” Ned said. “There must be a couple of hundred people here.”
    â€œThat’s nothing. By the time the first games start I bet there’ll be more than a thousand people here,” I said.
    â€œYou’re wrong,” Kia said. “There won’t be a thou-sand people. There’ll be thousands and thousands of people.”
    â€œThat’s a lot of people,” Ned said.
    â€œThat’s not that many,” I said.
    â€œMaybe not to you, but you have to remember where I come from, the big gest place has only three hundred people who live there, and Ihave to drive three hours to even find that many people.”
    â€œThere we are, all registered,” my father said, returning with some papers in his hands.
    â€œHow many teams in our category?” I asked.
    â€œTwenty-four.”
    â€œTwenty-four!” Ned exclaimed.
    â€œDon’t worry,” Kia said. “Most of them won’t be that good.”
    â€œI hope not,” I said.
    â€œThe teams are divided into four divisions, so you’ve only got five other teams and you play round-robin.”
    â€œWhat does that mean?” Ned asked.
    â€œWe play each team once,” I said.
    â€œThat means we have five games,” Ned said.
    â€œAnd what happens after the round-robin?” I asked.
    â€œAs far as I can tell the top two teams from each division then make the playoffs,” my father said.
    â€œSo