For some time now, a small but dedicated group at First Baptist Memphis have been renovating the church gym and Family Life Center. A couple of ladies have used their professional design skills to create a vision for the space and others have helped implement that vision. It looks wonderful, warm and inviting, already a completely different place. It is not yet complete, but today was a a glimmer of what is to come, the first fruits of their labor, if you will.
What happened today? For the first time in several years, FBC hosted basketball games. And what a sight it was! As I pulled into the parking lot, I was surprised to see so many cars. It must be all the parents, I thought, also speculating that the teams for the second game showed up early. However, when I walked in the gym, it was a standing room only crowd full of folks without kids. What a great turnout to support our boys!
What about the boys? How did they look? Coach Bobby had been excited about the team's first and only home game of the season, drumming up support within the church. But he had also been busy downplaying expectations. He succeeded on both points, as a large crowd arrived not expecting much by way of good ball. And so it was all the more exciting when the boys proved that they could actually play.
And play they did! The game remained close for a while, with neither team able to find their shot. But it was clear that Coach had taught the fundamentals, which is why FBC was clearly in control after the 1st quarter, despite only a 4-0 lead. The defense was stifling, with several blocked shots, more steals, and still more deflections. The kids had obviously bought into the notion that defense wins ballgames. And all the defensive plays and pure hustle led to transition opportunities (3-on-1, 2-on-1, 2-on-none fastbreaks). The half-court sets looked good, too. Perfect execution of set plays, with crisp ball movement and rotations, created great looks. If only they could have put the ball in the goal!
Toward the end of the half, the boys started to settle down and the ball began to drop. And they came out of halftime on fire! The defense and hustle were just as stellar; the fastbreaks kept coming; the half-court sets continued to work as planned. Only now the shots were falling. And the fans began to react, providing a boost to the young players, who built a pretty substantial lead but refused to let up.
It was nice to see good attitudes all around, evidenced by the fact that the loudest and most energetic fan reaction of the day was when the visiting team made its first basket with a little over 2 minutes left in the game. The home-heavy crowd went crazy for Number 22 for the visitors, the stocky point guard who had displayed such grit throughout the game. It's good to know that these kids are being raised with good sportsmanship.
Final score: 20-4! F-B-C Hoops!
The second game, from an older age group, was an even bigger route, but it was great to host 3 visiting teams (the team we played, plus both teams from the second game).
Did I mention the concession stand run by the youth group? Free popcorn! I'm not sure if they were being generous or business-savvy, though. The popcorn was free, but you needed something sweet to balance the salt. So you were forced to pay for a candy bar to go with the popcorn. And then you had to buy a drink to wash it all down. Great strategy and execution, youth!
It was also exciting to see some of the kids linger for a while, playing pool and foosball and arcade games. There is still much work to be done to fully resurrect the space. But today was a terrific glimpse into the future of the First Baptist Church of Memphis.
And for that we say, "Thanks be to God."
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