December 31, 2021: Buzzer Beater

Do you like to end the year with a bang? My idea of a “bang” is stuffing my face as much as possible before the new year sets in. Wake up on the 1st, log in my weight, and vow to lose a dozen pounds over the next 365. Well, after picking up a few steaks from Jewel, and already having the snack tray lined up for the entire evening, plus beers and a few leftover homemade cookies from Christmas, my plan was shaping up. Now I just had to get out of work, and get home to watch the Bulls game which started at 2pm at Indiana.

The Bulls games have been events at home over the Christmas break. With my son being able to stay up later than normal, we’ve been able to watch the complete games since the latest matchup with the Pacers back at the UC on 12/26. I got my wife that Joakim Noah draft day bobblehead for Christmas; my son went up and grabbed his Jimmy Butler and Benny the Bull bobblehead. Our team is ready, sitting right in front of the left corner of the TV. Next, my son brings down his boom whackers; heard of them? They’re these musical tubes if you may, different colors and lengths, that make different sounds when you bang them together. Of course, for Bulls games, we’ve been using them to distract the opponent at the free throw line; we bang the hell out of those things and rejoice when a free throw is missed, confident that we had something to do with it. It’s really fun. It’s also been fun because the Bulls have been kicking ass.

I figured this New Year’s Eve tilt would be a tough one; I was right. As I got off the train, I saw the Bulls were up 1 point in the 2nd quarter. I walked in the door, and we were locked in. At halftime, we began to transfer our location to the basement, where we have been celebrating each New Year’s Eve on our big couch in front of our big TV. We settled in for the 2nd half, and boy was it a doozy. Actually, it came down to the wire; if you weren’t already plastered, you know how this game ended.

As DD dribbbled up court, I was getting anxious. It’s not that I was uncomfortable with the ball in his hands and the prospect of him taking the last shot, he was barely past half court while the clock ticked down; hurry up!!! He admitted as much in the post game interview; he said he lost track of time. Thankfully for us, he finally realized it was time to shoot; unfortunately he took an off balance three pointer??? BAM! It went in; Bulls win! Bulls are now tied atop the East with the best record as the calendar turns to 2022. I would say they went out with a “bang” with a buzzer beater to end 2021…

Yeah, it was a great way to kick off the New Year’s Eve festivities as we were all yelling in celebration; we would be yelling Happy New Year about 7 hours later. For the Bulls, it looks to be a very promising new year, which they’ll kick off on Saturday night in DC. We’ll have the boom whackers ready… Go Bulls!!!