Last night during a discussion with the BORED I started thinking about how my relationship started with all the guys in PCTI, and after reminiscing on a couple, I started laughing over how much of a miracle it is that this exists given how things started between myself, and the majority of you.
Not all are negative, but most are. Below are a few lines about how my relationship started with each of you, in chronological order.
- Cum: First Grade - Threatened to cut off my head with the switch blade he smuggled into school elementary school. Can't say things have improved since then, but he's somehow still around.
- Smo: Third Grade - Pegged me three times in a little league baseball game, had me bawling in tears and lead to a near brawl between Mr. Orr and Mr. Krow.
- Beast: Third Grade - New guy, on the play ground was selected first before me, in which a rivalry begun. Got exposure early to the temperament, as he was picked and dubbed "Tall Boy" which made me snap back with a "My name isn't Tall Boy, it's Brent." Once a brat, always a brat.
- Beas: Fifth Grade - Although three years younger, took a liking because he was on my brother's team and played the entire season with a broken arm. And when I say broken, I mean right arm was in a sling.
- Abe: College - Positioned to me as a package deal with Hops, but ended up as a package deal with John O'Rourke, which meant in order to get Abe, I signed up for years of misery having to deal with Pitto Jr.
- Hops: College - Touted by Beast and Act as the second coming of me a hoops lover/top teammate who will take the burden off me on the organizing front. As soon as I got excited, I was told he had a reputation for over organizing, and that the two of us could be highly volatile together.
- Cockstrong: College - Having to utilize his nickname to protect his online presence, true to his name I was introduced to him by a female who drunkingly showed me his handprint from the night before.
- Ben: College - A morning hoops game was always challenging, and one morning we had nine show up. I would call it fate that Ben just so happened to be the only human in the gym at T-Recs at 8:00 am, as he was on the adjacent court shooting free throws. The rest is history.
- Sabin: Post College - The second day after moving to Dallas, a highschool teammate of mine invited me to an organized pickup game. Having thought he coordinated with the organizer, I show up to the game and made 20... Low and behold my old teammate showed up unannounced as well, and Sabin was in a mood. There's next to nothing that makes me more uncomfortable then showing up to an organized hoop game that does not welcome outsiders (no one is less welcoming then Sabin) and I sat there pondering leaving the gym as I watched Sabin in a cranky mood get the group going. Thankfully I stayed, and even more thankfully I ended up on Sabin's team. All it takes to get in his good graces is a good in rhythm chest pass, and the rest is history.
- Spotlight: Post College - Man this guy. I moved to Boston and yet again, the dynamic duo of Act and Beast have me setup with a teammate of theirs. Having reached out to Spotlight about six times inquiring about hoops with no response, three months into my stay I get a text saying "League starts tomorrow at 6:00pm, can you make it?" No one can ever accuse Spot of not being spontaneous.
- TP: Post College - Not negative at all, at Smo's wedding we sit down and have a face to face interview. Him and his wife pass with flying colors, and unfortunately is one of the few positive introductions.
- Juice: Post College - The way to Juice was one of the most excruciating situations I've ever been through, and it's been nothing but pain for me ever since. I was on my last week in a job before making the jump to the PRODUCE BIDNESS, and this guy I was with forced me to go watch a Gonzaga soccer practice because of this "cool kid" on the team. Not sure what I hate more, soccer or hanging out, but I got to do both. Well the "cool kid" somehow won me over, and I gave him my contact info in case he ever wanted a job. Well, three months later he reaches out, and I somehow ended up responsible for bringing on young talent. He gets hired, and somehow manages to do the world's easiest job so bad he gets fired. The one contribution he had along the way was getting Juice hired, and he's done nothing but torture me ever since.
- Smooth: Post College - I had joined a gym and was on my first day... Didn't know anyone but was enthused over the idea of the group being good players who don't talk and just play. Well, I made the mistake of guarding Smooth, and as he's slowly dribbling 40 feet from the half court basket, I don't even reach, but make it appear like I am... Little did I know the mistake I was making, as that woke up a mouth I've never seen before. All I could think in my head is who is this doofus, and how I was going to punish him and make him regret running his mouth. Five years later, here we are.
- Bottles: Post College - Met the same day as I did Smooth, just a slightly different approach. Such a nice guy I didn't feel comfortable guarding him because I couldn't get motivated, then as I close out he darts by me and throws down a dunk. He maintained the niceness that makes anyone hard to guard, but then slowly became the most difficult person I've ever had to guard.
- Kyle: Post College - Had been campaigning to get this guy in PCTI for years before finally meeting him. Was always appalled by how quiet he was and how he kept to himself, and was secretly offended that he never approached me to make a pitch on being a part of PCTI. When approaching Ben about it initially, he said he was probably too good for it, so I villainized him in my head that Kyle was the one saying that.
- Virgil: Post College - Moved to Frisco and got his contact info from Hops. His first game he showed up was the worst session of my life (and there have been A LOT of band ones), and I'm not sure I even completed a pass. Nothing he did wrong, but I'll forever associate my first experience with him with that performance...
