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Deeper Meanings of Prison Basketball |
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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 22 May 2006 |
 ElevationMag.com
In the feds prisoners subsist on a steady diet of BET, ESPN, and basketball. Ain't no faking it. Dudes are spending decades of their lives behind bars due to the War on Drugs and mandatory minimum sentences, but for real, prisoners gotta do something to make the time pass. There ain't no programs, the BOP took away the college classes, so rehabilitation is out the door. The feds want prisoners back anyhow, recidivism, you know. Just like Uncle Sam says- I want you (to be incarcerated). It's a vicious cycle. And to break the monotony of the endless and repetitive days of life on the inside prisoners play, watch, and talk about basketball. BET is getting big play too, but that’s another story. Rest in peace Biggie and Tupac and Jay-Z say it isn't so...
In the penitentiary thuglife clashes with prisonball. Don't get me wrong, dudes are going hard on the NBA, which is mandatory watching, college games, And One and streetball special, March Madness and all that. They getting down for the WNBA too. Fiending on the girls and sh*t. But the intramural prison leagues are where it's at. They got games every night-- A-League, B-League and over 38. And don't let it be primetime with two of the best teams on the pound battling because the gym will be packed. Dudes are trying to see some real live drama with cats they know personally, And they betting mad cake too. If they got it that is. A lot of dudes in here is dead ass broke. Can't get a yellow slip for nothing. But they still betting. Hustling and trying to come up, you know. A motherf**kers gotta eat and the sh*t they serving in the chow hall is some garbage. So they playing that NBA parley ticket trying to hit the four pick. Did the Lakers cover? How many points Iverson get? What about Kobe? What was the over-under on the San Antonio game? That’s what dudes are asking in here every morning when they get up to check out Sportscenter bright and early. They trying to check they money, you heard. And they betting on the compound games to. Betting that their man will drop 30 in the A-League game. That’s how it goes in prison. That’s real life in here and the realities that we are facing.
Sure there’s stabbings, and beatdowns, and rapes, and drugs, but who the f**k is into all that. Well, a lot of dudes really, but I mean you see one stabbing you seen them all. And most dudes are trying to dodge the violence, because it don't get you nothing but problems. Dudes wanna see some Sportscenter like highlights on the pound. They wanna see that wicked crossover that breaks the defenders ankles and leaves him lying on the floor. That’s reality. That’s excitement. And as they say in espanol- en vivo. Prisoners are trying to see dudes get clowned on the court. They want rainbow threes, behind the back no-look passes, and phi slamma jamma. Anything that will help them transcend the realities of prison life.
The games represent a release for the incarcerated who are stranded in a warzone. Frozen in time. Trapped in a system where endless days and nights are spent staring at the bars of a celldoor. Because in prison you don't got sh*t. You got 300 minutes a month on the phone and mail call. Trying to stay in touch with the streets and hoping for that yellow slip or kite from a shorty. Dying to be heard, to be recognized, to be acknowledged. Outta sight, outta mind, you know. Word is bond and all that. But the truth hurts and nobody trying to holla.
That Lexus is long gone or was never there as well as that wad of cheddar. Hustling backward trying to flip 10 grand. Ain't no new kicks or fly threads, just prison khakis. Dudes be hollering about the rides they rocked, the paper they were getting, and the dime pieces they hit but for real it don't matter in here. You in the feds, son. F**k all that whaling sh*t. You gotta put up or shut up and on the basketball court is where dudes can shine and take it to another level. Where dudes can separate themselves from the haters, bammers, and busters that populate the feds.
Dudes will be free reccing, working out, practicing on their jumper and handle, and trying to perfect that one show stopping move that will bring down the house and leave the crowd hooting, hollering, and running onto the court and sh*t. Talking about "That’s my man," and trying to give homeboy dap in the middle of the game. That respect is what dudes are trying to get in here. They wanna be the talk of the pound, the top player. Cause there ain't no ballers in here only b-ballers. But it’s hard, because there can only be one top player, and if there’s any questions or doubts the debate will rage on. Dudes will be arguing about it on the block, giving props to their man and dissing yours, and be ready to throw down too or take it to the wall if necessary. Because dudes ain't faking the funk in here. They bringing it. Sh*t is rough, you know. And some prisoners just need an excuse to cut loose and whip somebody's ass.
As the frustration and pent-up aggression builds, prisoners can and will explode. But the basketball games provide a realistic alternative.
Prisoners can scream, shout, and holler from the bleachers, or if their skills and heart are like that they can participate in the intense, competitive, and drama filled battles that we call games. The games provide an escape and an outlet if only for an hour or so when the prisoner doesn't have to think about his girl that left him for his man that snitched him out, his kids that nobody will bring to visit him, and the 20 year mandatory minimum sentence that is staring him in the face.
Words by Seth "Soul Man" Ferranti
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