FACE!!!

So within my first week in Germany I was introduced to the term "face". A term I have yet to run into during my 12 years of playing Basketball. Nonetheless, it must have originated in the United States somewhere. The term is simple, you make a shot in front of somebody, you calmly announce "face" to your opponent as you watch your shot going in.

On September 14th, for the first time in Germany, I noticed a young 13 year old keep it live!! The player plays for our U14 team in Iserlohn, and on this Sunday afternoon his team was trailing 90-38 with 9 minutes left in the 4th quarter. This fiery point guard makes a 3 pointer and yells out "FACE" in his prepubescent voice as loud as he could while he covered his face with his hand, extended it out, and covered it again while holding it there for a good 3 seconds. The gym was filled with maybe 12 fans that consisted of parents, siblings, and more parents so the FACE call echoed through the gym with great clarity.

Fast forward 45 seconds and my man hits yet another 3 in what looks to be a little to late seeing they are down 44-92 with 8:15 left in the game. However, my man kept things so live that he sprints back on defense and pauses on the opposite free throw line only to pull out his two pistols and cool them off a little by blowing on the barrel and putting them back into their holsters. Meanwhile, the other team comes down and gets a wide open lay-up from their dominant big man who probably finished with about 40.

Ladies and gents, that's how you keep it live on the basketball court!