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Blacktop Culture

It’s a far cry from the bright lights of the arena. The familiar sight of brightly polished parquet floors and fully loaded box seats are nowhere to be found. In its place is a slab of asphalt and cement blocks posing as bleachers. Everything is different; the bounce of the ball, the sound of a swishing net, and the roar of the crowd.

This is street basketball.
In the basketball world, it is most commonly referred to as the “other” game. A game where fundamental skills and half court style of play are left at home and a high flying, freestylin’ version takes center stage.

It’s a game where style points are as important as two points.

In a way, streetball is a basketball purist’s worst nightmare. Old school coaches cringe at the sight of their players going one-on-one against their defender. Coaches shun the playground style because of the emphasis on flashy moves and one-on-one duels and the lack of teamwork and organization.

In street ball, it’s the way of life. “Ballers” display a style of basketball that never lacks on showmanship and flair; enough that could get them benched in a normal game setting.

This in-your-face style makes the game so appealing, especially to the young inner city kids today. There’s a sense of freedom given to each baller to strut his stuff and work his magic, something he could never do on an organized game. Trash talking and attitude is highly encouraged. Between-the-leg, no-look passes and acrobatic dunks are considered religion. The play is physical, and tense, but all in fun, at least most of the time.

“It’s basketball at its purest form,” says Todd Boyd, a critical studies professor at USC. “The game grows out of the streets and many of the players who make it to the NBA started playing basketball in a street ball environment”

While street basketball has been around for a long time, it was mostly just an underground movement, played in `blacktops’ all over the city. The game grew into prominence when shoe company And1 received a videotape containing a remarkable array of streetball moves by New York basketball legend Rafer Alston. In moves that can only be described as jaw-dropping, the man that was known as “Skip to my Lou” impressed the And1 execs so much that they signed him to a basketball shoe deal, becoming the first non-NBA player at that time to do so and catapulting both And1 and Rafer Alston to nationwide fame.

After gaining steam in the national front, And1 produced the widely popular “Mix Tape Series,” a collection of the best street ballers from all over the United States showcasing their best moves. What was once a small flicker has grown in magnitude, sweeping through the United States like an uncontrollable wildfire.

In some respects, the shoe company has led the revolution of street basketball and, in the process, has garnered a world-wide following from young kids all over the world. Today, an increasing number of kids prefer to prefect their best “AO” impersonations, sometimes even more so than the basic lay-up.

Through it all, street basketball has spurned a new generation of kids that embrace this style of play more than the organized half court setting. Ask them and they’ll look at you and say matter-of-factly, “It’s more fun to play AND it’s more entertaining to watch.”

But more importantly, as the young `uns will surely attest, in street basketball, you don’t have to be a top 12 player to make a team.

If you got the moves, then you bring on your game.  

After all, street basketball goes by only one credo—if it looks good, it’s legal.

3 replies on “Blacktop Culture”

meh… While I was reading this I felt like i was reading an essay for school. Wasn’t nearly as interesting as your last article. I also think you stereotyped a bit when you were talking about kids and how they like streetball better. I know plenty of kids that laugh at how ridiculous the “mixtape tour” is and are actually turned off by it. There was a spelling mistake or two also.

Thanks Thank you for the comment IUfan62. I appreciate your honest opinion and will look forward to improving on my future works.

Cheers!

Okay Yeah, I agree with IUFan, it did seem a bit “essay-ish”. But it was okay, I section voted it.

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