Today's true story:
I once got into a fight with a stranger over a street ball game.
This was quite a while ago. It was spring break 2002, and I was playing ball at Sunset Rec. We were playing some three-on-three on one of the halfcourts. My buddy Ma (aka OptionZero) and this one dude whom I knew from living in the dorms were on my team. The other guys we played were these Asian guys. One of them was kind of pudgy and one of them was a little shorter than me. (I forget who the third guy was because he wasn't involved in the fight.)
We were pretty much whooping on those guys. Ma and I were scoring at will and we had a large lead. The shorter Asian guy got super pissed, and he was being vocal about it. He started giving us dirty looks and cussing at us, Ma in particular. I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was mighty offensive and annoying. Eventually I acknowledged him and told him to chill out 'cause it's just a game. Dude took it totally the wrong way. He started yelling at me and acting all tough. He yelled, "You better shut the eff up! You shut the eff up!" ("Eff" means the f-word. I decided to censor myself in case somebody with delicate sensibilities reads this. But you get the picture.)
Now, let me ask you, if you were in my place, what would you do at that point? I suppose the rational thing would have been to act somewhat apologetic, or at least perhaps non-threatening; like, maybe you'd try to say something to soothe his ego and placate him. Or maybe you could just walk away and stop playing entirely. Now ask yourself what would Dru do? So predictable.
Of course, after he told me to shut the eff up, my response was to hold the ball, square my shoulders, fix a cold gaze on him, hold it for a second, and then say, "Why don't you make me?"
Surprisingly, this shut the dude up for a bit. I think he was miffed I would stand up for myself and my friend, so his feeble mind had to process this unexpected outcome. All of us then continued playing the game, and I figured that I'd defused the situation.
Next thing that happened, I chased after a loose ball and then the little jerkwad ran up and sucker punched me in the head! Sucker punches. What is it with the sucker punches? Bullies love sucker punching. I hate that. At the time, I was wearing my glasses, and he knocked 'em clean off my head. I had a bruise on my temple for a week, too. But at least it didn't knock me out or anything. I staggered back a few steps but I didn't fall to my knees. Basically, it was just on, baby.
I straight up charged the guy and we just went at it.
You know how Sunset Rec looks inside, right? One side of the gym is a bunch of hoops for people to play halfcourt games while the "good" players play fullcourt on the other side. Then you've got the old Chinese dudes playing hardcore ping pong off to the side. Well, everybody in the whole dang place stopped what they were doing to watch us fight. Even the old Chinese dudes stopped their hardcore ping pong.
And then the fat Asian dude on the instigator's team tried to get in the fight, but Ma (my lifelong buddy since kindergarten) jumped his back and started punching the hell out of the guy's head. It was pretty funny. Ma and I were in a lot of fights when we were kids but this was probably one of our most glorious team-ups.
I was just drunk with rage. You know how people associate the color red with anger? I still remember my vision turned red during this fight. Maybe it was 'cause I took a sucker punch to the head, but I was pretty pissed. My vision had a reddish tint to it that I'd never experienced before.
I didn't use any fancy moves on that guy. We just got in close and started pounding each other. I don't think I took any particularly painful blows (other than that stupid sucker punch) but I felt like I delivered some powerful ones.
Anyway, after what was most likely, in reality, a short time, someone (I don't remember whom) split up all four of us and the fight thus ended. I still got in a cheap shot, though, 'cause while someone was grabbing and holding back the instigator, I was unrestrained. I picked up a ball and chucked it right at his groin. Seeing him double over in pain was immensely gratifying. I know it probably makes me sound like lousy, petty, unforgiving person to admit satisfaction in this, but that's how I felt at the time.
After a few minutes to cool off from the fight, I left.
If I were to find myself in a similar situation again, I would probably just quit playing with the annoying jerk and walk away. It ain't worth it. You never know. Next time I get into a fight, could be the last thing I do. Even if the guy isn't tougher than me, he could have a weapon or a gang of idiot friends or something. This is one of the reasons why I prefer playing with friends or people I know. I don't like having to deal with pricks if I can avoid 'em. (The Fob Academy aren't really jerks with whom I'd fight, I guess - I just don't like them very much 'cause they complain about everything and call fouls all the time. Also, I'd like to note that I am still lifetime undefeated in games against the Fob Academy.)
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