I was at a game of Basketball – MK Lions against the Leicester Raiders on Friday. Unfortunately, MK Lions didn’t win – we lost by a miserly 3 points. I’m not going to give you a full analysis of the game,, but I must say it was a good game – full of energy both from the players and the supporters.
I specific mention the supporters, because like most basketball teams the Lions have a drummer who beats a drum as the game goes on. When every the Lions have the ball the supporters chant Lions to the beat of the drum, whilst when the opposing team has the ball, they chant defence.
At the last game I attended the drummer wasn’t around and the whole atmosphere was subdued. I tried to get the supporters to chant lions and defence as the opposing team beat their drum but it didn’t work. I couldn’t get a chant going – it was like trying to breathe to someone else’s heartbeat.
You see to me the beating drum is like a heart beat with the supports creating an atmosphere that spur the players on. Yes, the players would still probably play well without the support of the drum and the chants of the supporters, but I believe that the support system provides something extra – inspiration; a sense of belief and purpose; strength to push on against the odds or when tired. Haven’t you noticed that in sports teams often do best in front of a home crowd?
The truth is in life, we all need a good support system to spur us on i.e. those special people who provide us with inspiration or whatever it is that we need to take us on through both the good times and the bad. As I continually develop and grow I’m constantly reviewing my support system, in order to try and ensure that I have what I need to help propel me forward as I’ve come to recognise that I’m no way an island and I just can’t make it on my own.
Reflecting back on the game, maybe one of the reasons why Leicester Raiders had an edge over us in the game is that not only did they come with their own drum, they also had a supporter with a little microphone who stood in front of the Leicester supporters spurring them on to support the Raiders. And the Raiders truly did raid us, scoring the winning 3 points just as the game to an end.
Selah
Copyright 2012. This document is the specific intellectual property of Susan Popoola. Content may not be reused or reproduced without the specific permission of the owner or a reference to the source.