'WILL WE BE ABLE TO HAVE A PEACEFUL SUNDAY SOON?'

By John Cairns

YUNG SHUE WAN, Lamma Island, Hong Kong –Surprisingly, not everyone enjoys the sights and sounds of sports.

Each Sunday for about five hours, the Lamma Island Pinoy Basketball League (LIPBL), its players and spectators turn Yung Shue Wan's outdoor basketball court into a colorful and festive place. Remote from the Main Street and surrounded by trees, the court usually lies idle.

Just beyond the trees stand a few houses and apartment buildings. Some residents there play in the games or enjoy watching them. But a few detest the LIPBL and almost everything about it.

Having published online reports about the league, I've received emails and other comments in response, usually from players, supporters or sponsors. Last week, my computer revealed emails from a Lamma Islander who despises the games, especially the related sounds and crowd noises.

Here are the complaints and my replies.

Spoilsport: “Spare a thought for the folks living around the basketball court. We have had the volleyball tournament and now the basketball tournament, and every week, the volume gets cranked up as the enthusiasm grows. Will we be able to have a peaceful Sunday soon? It will be the first in about three months.”

Reply: “Sorry to hear that the basketball games somehow bother you. But the basketball court is for sports. Considering how under-utilized the place usually is, I'd say it's nice to see it used to the full, at least for one afternoon per week.

“Surely, it's a plus to live near one of Lamma's most colorful and lively events. You could attend the games and have fun too. Personally, I hate to miss even a minute or two of it.

“The sounds of people having fun nearby in no way should impede anyone else's peaceful Sunday afternoons. What can possibly be wrong with using the basketball court for basketball?”

Spoilsport: “The buzzer, the screams, the microphone distortion, not to mention the fact that no one else gets a chance to use the court on Sundays anymore, so our sports have been curtailed.

“When other folks use the basketball court for basketball, they don't disturb the peace. No, only the kind of basketball that requires all the appalling hysterics (one woman's scream identical each and every time).

“I look forward to a day when we can get a chance again to play on this public facility.”

Reply: “For a well-organized league to use the basketball court, which mostly remains idle, for a few hours per week hardly can be called monopolizing it, or anything other than a good thing.

“That it's well enough organized to add some bells and whistles is another good thing, as is the fact that the spectators enjoy watching enough to scream and cheer. What could be more normal than game-related noise from a sports facility in the daytime? Many people enjoy hearing crowd noises.

“The kind of 24/7 ‘undisturbed peace’ in which no one has any fun brings to mind North Korea or parts of the Chinese mainland.

“No need to wait for a day when you can ‘again play on this public facility’. You can do so on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning or Sunday evening.

“The basketball court is intended for basketball. Anyone on Lamma had or has the chance to participate in the league as a player or spectator. There's no better community activity on this island.”

Spoilsport: “You would say that, wouldn't you?”

Reply: “Of course, I would. It's so obvious.”

Conclusion: Years ago, I lived near a large football (gridiron) stadium. During home games of the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders, I heard crowd noises from tens of thousands of cheering people and regarded the sounds as a joyful thing, the frequency and volume of which reflected the home team's success or failure. I fondly remember those sounds.

It takes imagination and distortion (not from microphones) to regard the LIPBL as anything other than a huge plus for Lamma and many of its people. Those who haven't joined the fun should brush off their community spirit and attend games. That's a happier, healthier option than bitterly complaining.

Latest Results: On November 13, the Gray Hawks tightened their talons on first place with a razor-thin 96-94 victory over Huggen D'ass. The Lamma Archers started slowly, but then outran and outgunned the Lamma Lickers 105-77.

For a time, the league's first evening game had been anticipated due to a planned delay so that Filipino boxing fans could watch TV coverage of their national hero, Manny Pacquiao, fight in Las Vegas. Pacquiao defeated Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez in a hard-fought, tight-to-the-finish tussle (much like many LIPBL games). But the later-than-usual hoops showdown failed to materialize. League games reverted to their usual start times because the courtside lights couldn't be adjusted to illuminate at the opportune time.

Next Week: On November 20, the Awesome Tigers will meet Huggen D'ass. Then the Archers take aim at the soaring Gray Hawks.

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LIPBL Standings

Gray Hawks (gray) – 6 wins, 1 loss
Awesome Tigers (green) – 4 wins, 2 losses
Lamma Archers (blue) – 3 wins, 3 losses
Huggen D'ass (red) – 2 wins, 4 losses
Lamma Lickers (yellow) – 1 win, 6 losses

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