With March madness coming to a close, Bookstore Basketball is commencing, bringing smiles and competition along with tradition to Notre Dame's campus
Emily Howald
Assistant Scene Editor
Bookstore Basketball is back once again, and with it comes not only laughter at the strange and unique names, but heavy competition among the top teams for the coveted title of bookstore champion.
The tournament unites the Notre Dame community in one event that seems fit for everyone.
"Where else can you find drunken idiots, unathletic Notre Dame engineers and superstar athletes all competing in one tournament against each other," Fisher sophomore Lee Gettler said.
The Bookstore Basketball Tournament is the largest 5-on-5 tournament in the world and has grown with each year. It began in 1972 with 53 teams, and reached a peak in Bookstore XXI with 705 teams. This year there are 539 teams participating comprised of faculty, staff and students from Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College.
The tournament is held for the duration of the month of April and began this Saturday and the finals will be played on Sunday, April 27.
In recent years, Bookstore Basketball has gained national attention with their increased number of teams participating in the event. Additionally, former players have gained national recognition such as Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown in 1987 and both Adrian Dantley and Bill Hanzlik were chosen for Olympic basketball teams. Dantely participated in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and won a gold medal, while Hanzlik was supposed participate in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, but the US team boycotted the games.
Bookstore Basketball has become a known tradition on the Notre Dame campus.
Alumni from all over the country show interest in the event and are always eager to learn about the tournament's growth and development.
"The rivalry, the competition, the camaraderie — they are all things that will stay with me for the rest of my life," Notre Dame graduate and former Dillon resident att Walsh said.
Other graduates have been very inquisitive about the upcoming events at the bookstore games.
Bookstore Basketball has become a part of the Notre Dame community just as much as any other time honored tradition at the University, with an added twist of humor. Not only do students dress up with themes and interesting costumes, some show up merely to make fools of themselves. It is an added comic relief to the University before things start to wrap up during finals week.
"Bookstore Basketball is the best thing to happen to this University since the time Wolfman Jock ran through Stonehenge," Dillon sophomore Tom Raaf said.
Not only do the players find the competition amusing, but some take the competition very seriously as well.
"We practice a lot and take the game pretty seriously. I know this is a joke to some people, but to me, bookstore basketball is something that should bring happiness from the joy of the game and a sense of pride from the excellent feeling that comes with accomplishment. I think bookstore basketball is swell," sophomore Ken Champa said.
Some, however, take bookstore basketball with the nonchalant attitude that accompanies many of the comical teams that hit the courts.
"Bookstore makes me dribble. Ha-ha, get it? I am probably one of the top ten players in the tournament, not to mention the best looking. If looks could kill I'd be an Uzi," Luis Arguello of St. Edward's said.
Although the competition has increased as the tradition grows, it is still a game at the heart of it.
Basketball is a sport that gives a large variety of people a chance to play, and although it is competitive, many people find amusement in the game, other take it somewhat seriously.
"The ball is round. The game is to 21 points. The rest is just theory," sophomore Matt Schulte from Dillon said.
Although some of the teams appear as though they may not have mastered the art of basketball in their earlier days, generally , the teams appear to have an enjoyable time on the court. There are usually screams of laughter coming from all the general areas of the games, and cheers can be heard at all areas on campus.
Bookstore Basketball has become an integral part of the Notre Dame community. It not only serves the purpose of enhancing the Notre Dame tradition, but it is an enjoyable event that gives students a chance to relax and have fun.
"Bookstore basketball is great; it gives the engineers a chance to see the sun, and the rest of us just have a great time," Gettler said.
For more information on Bookstore Basketball or updated schedules or ranking go to www.nd.edu/~bkstr.
Check out the games at any of the regulation basketball courts on campus, such as Stepan or Lyons, but especially at the central location of the bookstore courts. Games will be running through all of April.
All Scene Stories for Monday, April 7, 2003
