Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
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Right now I'm putting together my closer look for Friday morning on church ball. Not the movie coming out tomorrow, but the real thing. Two Saturdays ago I went to a basketball game between two LDS Church wards. I've been logging my tape this morning and I just have to laugh. I picked up some funny things on the microphone. Namely myself, yelling "Cone on, red!" and my baby giggling and playing with his toys while his mother juggled her recording equipment and her urge to cheer for the red team. My husband was playing. They lost, and have had their tournament hopes dashed.
I interviewed a few members of the team and some wives about church ball. I didn't see any bloodshed, but I saw some tempers flare. It seems everyone has a funny story or memory about these games. Greg Thorton told me his bishop once announced over the pulpit that Greg had received a technical foul and so was out of the game. He also remembers a guy praying at the start the game and asking for the teams to fight clean. Michelle McFarland told me her mother would take her five little girls to go watch her father play, but when he would get too worked up the mom would gather up her girls and leave the game. My mother-in-law tells a funny story about watching her husband play when they were younger. She was sitting by another woman who kept talking about the "horse" out on the court. She finally turns to my mother-in-law and said, "So who is your husband?" My mother-in-law calmly replied, "The horse."
