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Whaow…! What a great weekend we had down in Birmingham for the BBL Cup Final. I hardly know where to begin.
Seven of us Rockettes made the trip, myself, Carole Anne, Claire, Pauline, Lisa, Deone and Annemarie.
We arrived in Birmingham on Saturday afternoon. After checking into our hotel we had some lunch and a stroll around the shops.
We had dinner on sat night at a lovely Italian and then headed back to the hotel to get our fake tan sorted. Saturday night was spent all cosy in our pj's with some choc mud cakes and CSI on Channel 5… Shhh…!!! No talking whilst CSI is on!!! Or Texting Carole Anne!
Sunday morning: up bright and early for breakfast and all prepared for a brisk stroll to the NIA. Until we see the rain!! Claire had put loose curls in my hair and there was no way I was walking in that rain, my hair would have inflated around 6 inches. We met Ian from the BBL who was putting the 'Hip Hoopers' trampolines into the back of a massive white van! So yep you guessed it… after raising and lowering the platform control a few hundred times we arrived in style right into the Arena in the back of a white van. We had so much fun being swung about like rag dolls in the rear. At one point I was almost on Lisa's back as we made a sharp bend, Carole Anne's suitcase flew past me and I think Pauline went with it. Claire's face was jammed against the wooden sides as Annemaire ended up on her rear. I couldn't breathe for laughing, but at least my hair was dry.
The Molten stand upstairs took some of our calendars to sell. A massive thank you to those of you who bought our calendars. Feel proud, you've just contributed to sick children's charities.
Downstairs in the Arena we had a run-through on-court. The 'Hip Hoopers' were back-flipping over us and dunking baskets as they also rehearsed. Absolutely fantastic they were, I'm sure you'll agree if you saw them. How come we don't see any of the BBL players back-flipping while they shoot their baskets?
During rehearsals we collected 3 flags that we were to carry during the main game intro. One for the BBL which Carole Anne took, one for the Milton Keynes Lions which I gave Claire, and the other for the Newcastle Eagles which I took. I then bumped into my wee friend the BBL traveller who was walking as if he had jaggy stones in his shoes.! He said it was 'gout'… aye ok pal, admit it, you were wearing the milky bar kid's shoes weren't you? Ha ha. Anyway he made a comment as I had the Eagles' flag, something to the effect of it must be killing me to carry it!! NOT at all I LOVE the Eagles team, they are a fantastic team! And I politely pointed out I was only carrying that flag to jinx them!!! Oops!!!! I'll NEVER get to hold it again, sorry Eagles.!
Part of the pre-game match day events was a shoot-out with every team being represented on court. Our very own Bilal Clarance was there to fly the flag for the Rocks. He was so close to winning, and seemed a bit gutted but humble with it. I on the other hand was raging! £500 he would have won! I mean I had that spent in my head before he even started! Next time there's a shoot-out I want a go! I was a 'wing attack' in netball and my shooting skills were spot on! Pass the ball guys!
So on with the action. What an intense game on court as both teams battled it out to a sell-out crowd. The atmosphere was electric and every basket was met with a rapturous roar from each set of fans. Absolutely amazing.
There was a set of bright orange shoes on court meandering their way through the guys, almost blinded me. They belonged to Milton Keynes' Tony Windless. Orange shoes Tony? What's that all about big man? Oh and did you see the Sphinx on court aka Kevin Griffin, how could you miss him!! Big black woolly hold-up socks up to his thighs, I thought he had a coupla holes in the knees but it was a wee Nike sign… haha… what an AMAZING game that guy had eh!
Our routines were going well on court, well apart from poor Lisa who hurt her leg during a quarter change. For the Eagles, Charlie Boy Smiffy was on top form and repeatedly netted that ball much to the anger of Milton Keynes coach MacCaulay.
So it was Milton Keynes that came out on top after a very close encounter, I think most of the fans were on their feet throughout the entire game. I can honestly say that I would have felt gutted for Milton Keynes if they hadn't have won the Cup. Milton Keynes played so well and I really felt they deserved their victory. Defo a team to be reckoned with for the 2008 Play-Off's and a very 'family orientated' team which was so nice to see.
Equally I felt for the Eagles too though, these guys in my opinion have more pressure on them to be the best on the day. It's hard being at the top of your game all of the time and feel you have to prove yourself. Still every game is a separate battle and I'm sure both teams will move on and be stronger in their own ways after the Cup Final.
So it was homeward bound for us girlies after a busy day with many 'time-out' slots. We collected our wounded and our choc cookies from 'Foxy' and made our way to the airport. Massive thanks to the guys at the BBL for having us down and we'll look forward to meeting the Eagles this Sunday at Braehead Arena.
Hot on the Court – Gra Gra Gra Griffin!!!
Not Hot on the Court – Tony Windless, orange shoes!
Kat x
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