The New Basketball Goal

The kids have completely assimilated to the new house. The other day I asked the kids what they missed most about our old house. Morgan said what she missed the most was that we used to live caddy-corner from her kindergarten teacher’s brother. That’s a hit I can take. Mason’s was a bit more legitimate; he missed our old basketball goal.

Several of our neighbors at the new house have portable basketball goals. Most of them are standing next to people’s driveways, but a few of them are always laying nose-first in the dirt and I’ve considered asking those people if they want to get rid of them. I checked Craigslist and the going rate seems to be around $50 for ones that need repair and $200 for working ones.

The other day at work I mentioned that I was looking for one of these basketball goals, and my friend Howard said he had one that I could have for free. Everything was good on it except the Plexiglas backboard, which broke after the wind blew the whole thing over.

A couple of days later, I drove my truck over to Howard’s house and the two of us loaded the thing into my truck. The sand stored in the base of the goal get wet at some point and essentially turned into concrete. I don’t know how much the thing weighs now, but I will guess it’s somewhere around 4,328 tons. With ramps, sweat, and a couple of new hernias, we got the beast up into the back of my truck. Originally I had planned on laying the thing over, but once it was up there I couldn’t move it. Instead I threw two straps around the pole, crossed my fingers, and began the precarious trip home.

By the way, When you’ve got a giant basketball goal in the back of your truck and you’re approaching a bridge, this is the shadow you don’t want to see.

Thanks to gravity, the basketball goal came out of the truck much easier than it went in. After backing my truck into my ditch, we scooted the thing out and manhandled it over to it’s current resting place. I told the kids that I would get the backboard repaired soon, but they didn’t mind at all and began shooting baskets immediately.

Earlier this week I mentioned to my friend Andy that we just got a basketball goal, but needed a backboard. In one of those weird cosmic coincidences, Andy also had one that had fallen over. On his, the pole and other parts got bent, but the backboard was just fine and he said we could have it! Monday after work, I met Andy and picked up the backboard.

So far, this is how I work on the basketball goal — tilted over, and balanced on a bar stool. There’s probably a better way, but I haven’t found it yet.

The holes on the backboard didn’t exactly line up with what was on the pole, but after a couple of freshly-drilled mounting holes, the goal is as good as new! Mason has been shooting baskets every day after he gets home. Thanks again to Howard and Andy for the backboard and the pole. Mason loves it!!