Okall Ariel aka Th3 Doctor of Namuwongo Blazers lays up against Tony Drileba of City Oil
Dear Canary Mugume
Yesterday the most trending tweet in Uganda was “Book me a seat”
It reminded me of my high school days when we would have wars over the booking of seats
Canary, yesterday evening was a joyous evening at the MTN Lugogo indoor arena
The National Basketball League was coming to an end
I was amazed by how University girls managed to carry their 8th trophy beating the reigning champions
Yesterday evening the street chicken roasters in Namuwongo took a break to witness their boys play against the Cafe Javas boys
It was an uptown girl versus downtown girl kind of game
Canary, when my neighbor sneezed, we could barely catch our breath for the next couple of minutes
The day’s guest of honor was choked behind trophies and had to tilt his head at angles to watch all the action
The windows, which are the only source of fresh air, were fully booked out as seats
Canary, the fans were sweating more than the players
The games were scheduled to start at 7:00 pm, but by 4:00 pm, all seats had a bag or water bottle on them
By 5:00 pm, the courtside was fully stacked like bees in a hive
I saw the Women’s Commissioner sweating from continuously requesting the fans to keep their feet away from the court
Canary, the athletes, delayed executing plays because they were falling among the fans
This is probably one of the reasons Namuwongo lost
The men’s game was scheduled to start at 9:00 pm
But it started 30 minutes late
Now look here, Canary, athletes are great timekeepers, and you know that
The game was delayed because the fans were adamant about leaving the seats for the City Oiler’s technical team
The bouncers, the police, and the Federation leaders all came to convince the fans to move
But where did they want the fans to go?
The capacity of the arena is 800 fans, but Canary, in yesterday’s games, had over 1500 fans in attendance.
A chair was shared by two or three fans depending on one’s size
Canary, the referees, barely had running space by the sidelines; they occupied the athletes’ space on the field
This reminds me, Joan came at 6:00 pm and was offered a seat in the gardens outside the arena to watch the games on NBS Sport
Instead, Joan should have saved her transport money and bought internet data to live stream the game from home
But even NBS Sport was finding it tough to capture the game as there was no space for camera rotation
I couldn’t access the bathrooms as I had to jump over fellow fans
The thought of using poorly maintained facilities scared me off as well
Canary, I felt like I was watching Lebron yesterday
Deng blocked Enabu on the board
Okall thwarted Drileba
Azurlibe dunked!
For a second, I saw Kobe in these players
It is the beauty of sports
But I couldn’t celebrate all these good plays
I was crammed among the fans
Any movement caused discomfort to my neighbors
Furthermore, my chair lost its nuts
Standing up to celebrate could cost me a seat
Probably John could pick it as I cheered a play well executed
The heavens know how much the Federation tried
They brought those Mukwano-made plastic chairs along the courtside
They hired bouncers to ensure the athletes didn’t get any disturbances
They put a tablecloth at the guest of honor’s table
They served the guest of honor, Castle Lite, in glass buckets
The FIBA referee Commissioner was available fully clad in a suit
I was scared he would run out of breath as the tie was tightly tied, and there was barely any circulation of air
The Federation tried
Canary, the size of State high school gym in the USA is the size of our National arena
For a gym that serves a State is serving a Nation
We use four residential-sized doors to enter and exit
The ceiling is wrapped in bedsheets to absorb the heat and create an ambiance
The VIP section has just an inch of leg space added
Canary
Yesterday the most sent message amongst the elites of Uganda was “Book me a Seat”
Canary you should have been there!
