De-troit Volley-ball
Back in the day there used to be an announcer for the Detroit Pistons who would say Detroit Basketball at the beginning of every game. They might still do that, I haven't watched a Pistons game in I can't tell you how long. The title of this post just kind of came to me as I reminisced about that this morning.
This past weekend, @mrsbozz and I gave up sleeping in on Saturday morning to make the two hour drive down to Detroit to watch our niece play volleyball. She joined a travel team a couple of years ago that takes her all over the place to play games. Most of the time the tournaments are in Detroit, but occasionally they travel to Ohio and other states to play.
I'll be the first to admit that we have been a bit negligent and this was the first time this year we visited one of her tournaments. It was also the last tournament of the year, so it is good thing we made it down there.
Parking cost us $10 and we were just a short walk away from Huntington Place where the event was being held. You might be familiar with the previous name of Huntington Place which was the Cobo center.
You probably wouldn't realize it, but there is a lot of money involved in these tournaments. I apologize for the blurry images. I was trying to give everyone an idea of how big the area is without being that guy taking all the pictures.
Being a guy in his late forties, you don't want to be that creepy guy taking pictures at a volleyball tournament full of thousands of teenage girls.
It's sad and crazy, but those are the things you need to be mindful of these days.
It cost @mrsbozz and I $15 USD a piece just to get into the venue. Which is actually less than I thought it was going to be, but it still seems expensive for the two to three hours we were there.
If we had been staying longer it might have been cheaper to get the two day pass versus the one day pass.
When I tell you this place was massive, that really doesn't even begin to describe it. Picture volleyball courts and people lined up back to back as far as the eye can see and you will maybe have half an idea of what it was like.
There had to be hundreds of courts set up in this place easily.
I have been to Huntington Place for conferences in the past, but I have never quite seen it set up like this. It's also where they hold the big international auto show each year, so if that gives you an idea of the scope of this place...
This was court 44 and there were dozens of other courts beyond it. You can also see there were courts right next to it on either side. It is actually a bit chaotic when the games are happening. There are balls flying in every direction and you will often have to stop play because a ball from another court ended up on yours.
The noise was deafening. I got a phone call while I was in watching and I could barely hear the caller on the other end due to tall the cheering and yelling.
I wouldn't be shocked if he thought I was in the middle of a riot.
My niece's team didn't have a great day. In each match they play two games and if the games are split after those two, then they play a shortened third game. They were able to send one of the matches into a third game, but the other games they lost. It was fun to watch her play though, she really has some skills from when she first started playing.
It was also great to see her smile. I think we all know how rare those smiles can be from those angsty teens right?
In any event, it was still nice to get down to Detroit and watch her play some games. She really enjoys volleyball and my wife and I enjoy watching her. My wife used to play volleyball back in high school, so she has a certain affinity for the game. She is always commenting on the things the players should be doing differently.
I think she would make a great coach one day if she were to ever get the bug.
On our way home we watched my oldest niece play the final regular season games of her freshman year of college. This Wednesday they move on to play in the first round of the tournament. It is going to be a tough game for them as they are paired up against the best team in their conference.
In their double header this past weekend they lost the first game in the final inning after a bit of a breakdown on defense. They came back and won the second game quite easily. I even got to watch my niece pinch run for another girl and she scored a run.
It was a great moment for her!
Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports
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