Hoop-it-up.

March 2001

Billed as “the official national 3on3 basketball tour of the NBA and NBC Sports”, the Hoop-it-up® tournament hit Pier 30-32 in San Francisco this past weekend. Pitting the area’s best streetball players and/or talkers against one another in an semi-organized, corporate sponsor-friendly atmosphere.

The pier’s large, flat blacktop acreage made it ideal for bay-to-curb street ball and stage-one melanoma. Every square inch of the smoldering pavement was covered with portable half-courts and porta-johns. Hugging the perimeter of the courts, small crowds of spectators guzzled Gatorade® while watching their friends/competitors move up the tournament ladder.

Players ranged in age from 16-30ish, the majority of which seemed on the younger end of the scale. Mostly men and boys, but a surprising number of all-women teams played as well. (Perhaps the funniest scene was watching several imposing, tattooed women retrieve their babies who were sleeping in strollers just outside the court.)

Games were played to 16 (win by two) or for 30 minutes which ever came first. The time limit was a good idea, because thanks to the bay breeze, even the hottest hands threw up lots of bricks. Most of the real scoring damage was done under the basket. As was most of the injuries.

You can’t be worried about healthcare coverage and still play streetball. Blatant fouls were all-too common and often resulted in bloodied body parts. Despite a padded backboard post, many players went home down a few pints of B+.

Not to mention, sweat. This was hardly an afternoon of good-natured, friendly b-ball. This was serious, hardcore competition. There were even a few tense moments that required ref intervention, but nothing got too out of hand. It just pointed to the level of intensity with which the kids played.

In the end, some won, others lost. And as far as I know, no one let the air out of the 20-foot Footlocker inflatable referee.