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| Baseline for a great experience. |
I’ve always wanted to join a pickup game during my travels and have only ever found soccer. Even at mid-morning, it’s 30 degrees, with 87 per cent humidity. And, the court is longer than normal.
“You wanna play?”
The request, in stilted English, comes my way not long after I start leaning on the fence to watch the game already underway.
Perhaps I should have had breakfast.
From five-on-five to four-on-four and two-on-three, the heat dribbles off us more than we do. The ball moves. We catch passes, and our breath, swallowing steam.
The men speak Cantonese, but a screen is a screen in any language — especially with my size. Together, we applaud each others’ efforts and enjoy the boundary-breaking nature of sport. In this case, travelling takes on a couple meanings.
Turnarounds, a game-winning three to cap the day, and smiles all around.
I’ve imagined this moment through many countries.
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