Alef: The NEXT Conversation

Matzah Ballers

By Bennie Cohen

The scene is set: January 20, 2010 the Sacramento Kings take on the home favorite, and Eastern Division leader, Atlanta Hawks. Phillips Area, located in downtown Atlanta, can hold roughly 60,000 people.  Tonight, it sold a whopping 10,000 tickets. However, this was no ordinary game,  a fact proven by the Israelis in the crowd.  As I walked to the 200 level, where my friends and I had tickets, I was in shock- Not because of how many people weren’t there, but how many people were.  It may not have been a packed house, but tonight, thousands of people had come out to see the Israeli Phenom; Omri Casspi, the first Israeli drafted in the first round of the NBA draft had come to town.

There were people wearing Maccabi Tel-Aviv jerseys, along with Sacramento Kings jerseys with “Casspi” in Hebrew.  Israeli flag hung in various part of the arena. It was an amazing site.  I have always been fascinated about the pride Israeli’s have for each other and this was no exception. The game started, but Omri wasn’t on the court.  Then, a timeout! Omri jumped off the bench, takes off the sweats he had been practicing in before the game, and the crowd goes wild!
The people sitting next to us heard us cheer as Omri scored. We quickly explained to them that, yes, we were Hawks fans, but tonight were going for the player on the other team. The guy laughed, and tipped his Hawks hat said “I hear ya” and quickly followed up with a “shalom.”   We all laughed and finished the game together.

With five minutes remaining in the game, those of us going to the “Meet and Greet” (put together by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta ) set off to gate 113, to be taken onto the court to shoot a basket or two, and wait for Omri to come out. When we got there, we found a line of about 300 people waiting.  Being one of the first people, I felt lucky.  Passing time on the court I shot a few balls-  the rust was definitely there: I airballed, followed it up with a rebound, and still missed the layup.

The crowd started to head to the seats under the basket, and waited patiently for the Israeli superstar. Finally, after about twenty minutes, Omri came out and was immediately swarmed! Everyone was trying to get a picture, a hug, and in my case, an autograph. Luckily I had my people help me out; I got my ball signed and was able to help get a picture of Omri and one of my friends before Omri was taken away so the “big shots” in Atlanta could get their time with the superstar. About fifteen minutes went by.  People were shoving each other, and I couldn’t help but think “Am I at Machane Yehuda on Shabbos????” The security guards were getting irritated, but no one seemed to care- this was # 18 on paper (# 1 on our hearts) OMRI CASSPI! After about twenty minutes Omri left to head out on the road.  The Kings had a game in Charlotte the next night.

The experience was amazing.  I don’t really care about the Kings or the Hawks (I am a Miami Heat fan, myself) but for one night I was the biggest Omri Casspi fan in the South.  I consider myself  lucky to have seen the first Israeli to play a meaningful roll in the NBA.  Next time, who knows? Maybe a football game with an Israeli playing quarterback in the NFL!  Imagine those autobles….

Tags: Basketball, Israel, Sports

Posted by Rafi, Friday, January 29th, 2010, 7:10 am, Jews and Sports.