Never in a Million Years Did I Forsee This Happening

Last night was the third basketball game of the season and one that I would like to forget sooner rather than later.

Before I get into all the ugly details...let me just say that Zack had 4 points and 3 steals...but he only played for the first half of the game.

The night looked like it was going to be a great one as our girl's team won by a huge margin (I think the other team only scored 2 points in the whole game).  The B team boy's game was just as lopsided with our boys earning a 39-4 win. 

Then, it all came crashing down when the A team took the court.  The boys on the other team were ALL taller than our team's tallest boy...and they were amazing!  The boys quickly found themselves down by a score of 14-3.  Then they came to life briefly, storming back and scoring the next 8 points.  But then it fell apart. 

The rest of the night they were pushed and shoved around, made multiple mistakes on the court, and their shots just were not falling.

I do not necessarily see this alone as a bad thing - losing is part of playing the game.  Losing BADLY, while possibly embarrassing, is a good opportunity for character development - how to handle adversity with grace and glorify God with our actions.

Only...Zack didn't!!!!  I admit it had to be incredibly frustrating to be out there on that court...being pushed and shoved around...making mental errors that you don't normally make... and losing by 20 points.

In the end, it was a refs bad call that sent Zack over the edge.  He was driving to the basket, was fouled so hard that it sent him falling to the ground...and was called for a travel.  He was, I think, in desbelief mode briefly as he stood up, gave the ball to the ref, and ran to the other side of the court.

Then, reality hit... and he started huffing and getting so agitated that his coach had to pull him out of the game.  THAT I would have overlooked.

But back on the bench, he looked toward the court and spewed out the words "that was not a travel." So what if it was slightly under his breath and the refs couldn't hear it - I could hear it. Which meant that so could all the other parents watching the game.  Then he proceeded to emphasize his displeasure at that rotten call by taking a drink from his water bottle and slamming it down on his chair.  Excuse. Me .But. No!!!

It was less than a minute into the third period and I pulled him out of the game - like for the rest of the night.

Some pictures from before things spiraled out of control.