High school. It's a complicated time.
Full of passion. Excitement.
The crazy joy of being young.
At my school one spring, all that craziness...Came together in one word -
basketball.
For us, it was more than just a game...
It was ritual.
For the first time in years, McKinley High had a winner.
And we owed it all to one guy.
Number eleven...
Bobby Riddle.
Forget Cousy...forget Maravich...Bobby was magic.
A genuine high school hero.
Well, to me, anyway. And I should know.
After all...Bobby had the locker next to mine.
Hey, Bobby. How ya doin'? / Hey.
You really killed 'em.
Yeah...well, they weren't much.
Tell me about it.
which put me right smack...In the eye of the basketball hurricane.
Hi, Bobby! / Great game!
Thank you. /I know...
Which was a good place to be, all things considered.
So..how do you think we're gonna do this Friday, Bobby?
About the same. Comin' this way?
Sure!
Not that our relationship was all one-sided.
I mean, he respected my opinion...
Yeah, I hear Claremont's got this center...he's hitting sixty percent of his shots.
And I respected his.
The guy's a cherry picker. He doesn't even get back on defense.
Yeah, you can probably shut 'em down with a floating zone...
Hey, Bobby...you know Coach called a special practice today?
Oh, man - what's his problem? It's only Claremont...
Yeah, really..
Whoa! Did you see Peggy this mornin'? / Yeah. She was hot.
OK, so we weren't exactly Butch and Sundance. So what?
Seeya later, Kev.
I was on first-name basis with a superstar.
A guy who had the world at his fingertips.
As opposed to say...My dad.
I hate these damn reports.
Well, do you have to do them all tonight?
If I don't do it, nobody else will.
Well...I just hope they appreciate all the work you do.
There it was...Portrait of the worker ant.
His nose to the grindstone...And the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Not that we didn't appreciate him...
Gimme the sports section. / Nah - I'm readin' it.
Give it! / No!
We just had more important things on our minds.
Hey...Hey! Hey!
I thought you were supposed to be studying.
Well, I am.
I'm just taking a little break.And reading about the team this week.
You know, Dad - you really ought to check out a game.
I don't have time. Somebody's gotta put the food on the table.
Thanks, Dad.
But, Dad - we're having a great season.
We got this point guard...Bobby Riddle...He can't miss.
I mean, he's leading the league in...in almost everything. He's unbelievable.
Don't you have a test coming up?
Well, yeah, but I-I...
I don't think...Basketball stats are gonna be on it.
All in all...
Made ya wonder if the man ever went to high school.
Hey, Bobby! Great game. / Oh, hey. What's up?
Oh, not much. Oh, this is Winnie..., and...
Oh - we've already met.
What's up, Pat?
When you're hot you're hot.
And when you're not, you're...Pat.
I really thought the team was great tonight.
Yeah, well...we were lucky.
Yeah - this was great. Hanging out.
Hobknobbing with the stars...
OK, it was nice seeing ya Bobby. We gotta go.
What?!
I told you.We have to study.
Jeez - did this kid have no sense of social graces?
Come on, Paul...Don't be a jerk!
We got plenty of time.
Pfff. So we skip an hour of homework.What's the worst that could happen?
A "D"!
How could you get a "D"?
Rats.
Well, I don't know, Dad - the test was hard.
Tests are supposed to be hard, Kevin.How'd this happen?
I dunno.Maybe I was just...Tired.
"Tired"? /Woops.
Maybe you were tired...
because you've been hanging out too late, celebrating basketball victories.
He had me nailed.This called for a brilliant tactical move on my part.
You're absolutely right, Dad.
Ya gotta be more sensible. / I will - I promise.
Good. / OK...
So, uh...Great I'll seeya later.
Where the hell are you goin'? / To the game...
Fact. When you're sixteen...
Your sense of irony isn't particularly well-developed.
Oh, come on, Dad.
If we win this one, we'll go to the state tournament!
Did you hear a word of what I just said?
Jack, maybe we should let him go...
He's only young once.
And there...finally.A blow for the cause of freedom.
I owed her my eternal gratitude. My undying respect.
Thanks, Mom! Seeya, Dad!
But then...I was in a hurry.
The final game of our regular season.
Win this and we moved on to the regional playoffs.
Our future was hanging in the balance.
What's going on here? I thought you told me these guys were supposed to skate...
Don't worry. We'll pull it out.
"Don't worry"? We're three points down, with thirty seconds left.
I'm worried!
It was pretty clear what we needed...Was a miracle.
Still, miracles...Were commonplace to Bobby Riddle.
Face it - it didn't matter if we were down by three points...
Or thirty or three hundred. This wasn't just basketball.
It was magic.
It was fate.
And when Bobby took that ball down court for the last time...
Somehow...We all knew.
The game...
The night...The title...
The world...
Was ours.
And all because of one guy.
Number eleven. A real hero.
On the day of the big game...Basketball fever had turned into basketball frenzy.
We were on our way to the regional finals.
And we all knew whose shoulders this rested on.
It was the most amazing thing...Any of us had ever been a part of.
Almost any of us, anyway.
Seeya, Dad.
Wait a minute...
Where are you goin'?
Rats.
I gotta go meet the guys...on the bus. To the arena?
Dad, the big game's tonight.
Oh...
Wait a minute.Did you finish your homework?
Oh, brother.
Well...no...But I was gonna do it when I got home.
But it was clear, it was going to take...
An impassioned plea here to turn the great curmudgeon around.
Dad, this is important, OK?
I mean, twenty years from now, I'm not gonna remember my homework.
But this game...
This is something I'm gonna tell my children about.
Maybe even my grandchildren.
There. Worthy of the Gettysburg Address.
Fine, then.
Great.
I'll take you.
What?
This way, you can finish your homework...And still make the tip-off.
Yeah, but Dad...the guys are expecting me!
Besides, you say this team is that good...
Maybe I oughtta take a look.
See what all the fuss is about. What d'ya say?
So what could I say? Except...
Sure, Dad.
That sounds...great.
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Division 3...
And there ya had it.
Possibly the biggest night of my high school's life...
And I was arriving with...
Big, huh?
My own personal truant officer.
What'd you expect?
Hey! Kev!
We got some seats over here.
Oh, great.
Uh, Dad?Let's sit over here.
No, thanks - we got two over here!
Which is not to say...That I was embarrassed to be seen with the guy.
Even though I was.
Game's gonna start.
Yep, this was great - just me and...Mr. Basketball.
Still...Once the game started...
A funny thing began to to happen.
Bobby Riddle...two points!
He's got a good shot. / I told ya so!
Yeah!
My dad began to get swept up by Bobby Riddle's magic.
Alright!
And the way Bobby played...
Pretty soon, we were cheering together.
Till finally...Dad was even asking the same questions we'd all been asking.
How'd he do that?
Sure, the game was close, but...Bobby was incredible.
He just couldn't miss.
Until he did.
He'll make the next one.
After all...We hadn't come this far to blow it now.
We had destiny on our side.
Then we went into half-time...
All tied up.
So what do you want on your hotdog? / I'll have the works.
Hey, Kev! / Hey!
Man, this is close. / I'm not that worried.
Did you see that lay-up Bobby made from behind the basket?!
The guy's amazing.
OK - we were all in agreement.To a man.
So...Mr. Arnold...What do you think?
I don't know...i just hope Southwestern doesn't have Bobby's number.
What are you talkin' about?
The guys got like...nineteen points.
Yeah, but that was before they double-teamed 'em.
Looks like they'll...Keep two men on Bobby,
and use the three-man zone to defend the rest of the team.
And in the face of this sage piece of basketball wisdom...
There was only one response.
I think we'd better get back to the seats.
Yeah. Seeya.
Jeez - what's his problem?
I couldn't believe it.
You say "the works"?
Here I'd been nice enough to bring this guy along..
practically dragged him to the game...
And he had the nerve to stand around...And pop my balloon?
Nice goin', Dad! / Hah?
Ya have to spoil everything!
I was just talkin' about strategy.
You have to put everything down!
I mean, you just can't stand it if I'm having a good time!
Can ya?
OK - so maybe I'd flown off the handle.
A little. I wasn't sorry.
I was just waiting for my team...To show this stick-in-the-mud how wrong he was.
Here we go with the second half!
And I knew Bobby wouldn't let me down.
Only somehow...
Things went wrong.
It was if the other team followed my father's strategy to the "T".
And the more my team fell behind...The more I resented my Dad.
I guess magic doesn't last forever...
No matter how much you wish it would.
Destiny can turn on a dime...
And cut like a knife.
That night a high school dream of victory came true.
But not for us.
And as they pumped in point after point...
Bobby Riddle's season of glory ended...
in defeat.
The final score...Southwestern Bengals 76, McKinley Knights 65. Thank you...
We sat there for a long time. I just wasn't ready to leave.
Somehow I just couldn't quite believe it was over.
Besides, I figured, we'd stuck together in victory,
we'd stick together in defeat.
Bobby?
You played a good game, man.
It wasn't your fault.
They had their whole team on you.
Besides, we wouldn't have even gotten this far if it wasn't for you.
It was a homage to a guy I really admired. A real hero.
We?
Hey, get off my back, will ya, kid?
I'll never forget how I felt at that moment.
I wanted to crawl under the floorboards.
And I was sure that everyone in that arena...Had heard.
And everyone had.
Things were pretty quite heading home.
There wasn't much to say.
I'd made an idiot of myself. I knew it...
And worse - I knew he knew it, too.
Tell ya what. There's a diner a few miles up here.
Mind if we stop for a cup of coffee?
Sure, Dad.
Why not?
I'd always heard coffee went well with crow.
The thing is, I wasn't sure which he was gonna do first...
Bust me for being a snotty-nosed wiseguy...
Or gloat about the game.
Ya know, Kev...
My guess was...gloat.
They really didn't play that bad.
What? / Your team.
They gave it a pretty good shot, right?
Dad - they got creamed.
And that Bobby kid...He did OK. Don't ya think?
I mean, good ball-handler...Tough from the corner.
And that...little loopy jump-shot...
And that's when I realized, he wasn't just gonna gloat...
He was gonna take Bobby Riddle and rub him into me till I -
Look, Dad.
In the first place...Bobby stunk, OK?
In the second place, he's not that good -
he was never that good, OK?
So, I'm sorry you had to waste your time coming down.
I'm sorry about the test...I'm...sorry...
I'm sorry we can't all be like you!
Something funny?
Nah, it's just...
You're a hard man to please, you know that?
And then that man..."Mr. Pencil stubs and Alka-Seltzer"...
"Mr. Pay the bills and go to work"...said something I'll never forget.
Let me tell ya something, Kev...
It's not easy being a hero.
And I knew he wasn't talking about Bobby Riddle.
He was talking...About himself.
No...
I guess it isn't.
You know how I knew they were gonna double-team 'em?Use that three-man zone?
Some heroes pass through your life and disappear in a flash.
You get over it.
But the good ones, the real ones,
the ones who count - stay with you for the long haul.
The thing is, after all these years, I couldn't tell you the score of that game.
What I remember is...sitting in that diner, up late...being young...
Drinking coffee with the only real hero I ever knew.
My Dad - Jack Arnold.
Number one.
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