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Our secret? Mario means success
 Yes my friends, the time has come. The much-anticipated follow up to my blog debut has finally arrived. Ok, yes, I will admit it; I did not receive any critical acclaim for my first blogging attempt. Shocking I know, but I'm a self-admitted work in progress. However, the immensely talented editors over at Eurocupbasketball.com asked me for another go-round, so I'm taking that to mean the fans out there reading at least tolerated or maybe even moderately enjoyed my writing efforts. And with those reassurances fresh on my mind, I confidently embark into my second posting.
Enough of trying to sound somewhat smart, let's get to the important stuff here. Our team, Benetton Treviso, just won our fourth consecutive game in the Last 16 and guaranteed our trip to Torino for a spot in the Final Eight. On top of that, we put ourselves in very good position to qualify as the first-place seed in our group. Other people seem to think this is important, and obviously given the choice, our team would prefer to play a team finishing second in their group rather than first. However, especially as we narrow the field to the final eight teams of the competition, I think every matchup will be extremely dangerous and escaping with wins will be a huge challenge.
Luckily for me, I don't have to bother thinking about those kinds of things. We still have two important games left in the Last 16 to secure a first place position, and even if our team wanted to think ahead to the next round, Coach Mahmuti certainly has no plans to allow such nonsense. It's great to qualify so early, but we still must continue to use each game as an opportunity to improve and build for the rest of the Eurocup and Italian League seasons. While it is certainly a great accomplishment, no one on our team is satisfied with just qualifying for the Final Eight. We are working everyday in practice to achieve more. Who knows? Maybe we will get lucky…
A lot of people probably didn't expect our team to be in this position. There were some people I talked to who were surprised we qualified for the top 16. Even the most ambitious Benetton fans would probably admit they didn't expect a Final Eight qualification after just four games. So what is the secret to our current Eurocup success? Tough defense? Rebounding? Staying focused and aggressive? It's hard to say. I think it really depends on whom you ask. Coach Mahmuti's answer probably involves a combination of the aforementioned three. What's my opinion you ask? These are all important for sure, but I think the one thing our team has going for it right now that maybe no other team out there in the Eurocup has is…Mariokart for Nintendo DS.
(Briefly, for those whom aren't familiar with the world of handheld video gaming: Mariokart is a racing game for Nintendo DS, a handheld gaming console. And it's amazing.)
Yes, I said it. The secret is out. What is this guy talking about you say? Let me explain. As a member of a basketball team participating in the Eurocup, you will undoubtedly be subject to countless hours of "free time". Now, in the past, I have tried to feel good about myself and to maximize my efficiency by reading books, studying languages, or even working on writing a book of my own. All worthwhile endeavors, yes, but none involve the rest of the team and none are really all that "fun" in the grand scheme of things.
When our captain, Matteo Soragna, told me about Mariokart for DS; about how eight players can race against each other at the same time while sitting in different parts of the plane; about naming your characters and who held bragging rights from last year's team; and about how quickly the plane trips to Ankara and Moscow will fly by, I committed wholeheartedly. We started as a couple, grew to five or six, and now nearly the whole team has purchased their own Nintendo DS and Mariokart game. (Only one person needs the game to play altogether, but the newcomers practice for hours at home to compete against the rest of the field.) At this point, if you finish in the bottom two of a particular race, you have to sit out the next competition. In other words, we have officially applied the European sport policy of promotion and relegation to Mariokart. So far, we have disturbed countless airplane seatmates, hotel security in Moscow, hotel security in Ankara, a grumpy British Airways captain with a flight in the morning, and probably several others. As a team, we apologize. These disturbances are certainly not intended, but similar to basketball, emotion and animated reactions are integral parts of the Mariokart experience.
But how does it help us win? Why am I writing about Mariokart as an essential part of our success? I could tell you that it builds chemistry between the team, or that it keeps the mood light and more relaxed on long, physically and mentally grueling road trips. Both would certainly be true, but I think I have to be honest and tell you that I really just wanted to write about Mariokart because it is fun. I play Mariokart for the same reason millions of people out there (including myself) play basketball, because it is a lot of fun. And in my opinion, all the things I mentioned above; team chemistry, being able to relax off the court, tough defense, rebounding, and on court focus: those are the things that contribute to making a team a winner. And more than anything, Winning is fun.
Alright. On a slightly more serious note, our club is very excited to be headed to the Final Eight in Torino. Being able to represent Italian basketball in the event's host country is important for us, and hopefully all the great Italian fans will rally behind our team as we look to move even deeper into the competition. Thank you all for your continued support of our team and the Eurocup.
I am almost positive this is the first time Mariokart has been mentioned on the Eurocup website, and I hope you found the real secret to our success entertaining. I wish everyone the best, and hope to see a lot of you in Torino!! Oh, and if other teams out there wish to emulate our formula for Mariokart competition, here is the format below:
Mariokart Format:
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- 8 players.
- Everyone must change his name/user ID before each race.
- Play to 150 points.
- No teams. (Our young guys try to team up when they are desperate for a win)
- There are two titles: a world title and a European title. (We had to add the European title for Andrea Renzi because he was consistently finishing second.)
Have fun!
POSTED BY
CJ Wallace, Treviso
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