Challenges · Photography Challenges

Forgotten Games

Kat

Near our house is an abandoned basketball court. One of the hoops has fallen down, the other is slowly being overtaken by an overgrown bush/weed-like plant. It is rundown, with weeds spreading through the cracked surface of basketball court. Since it has always been on private property, I often wonder how much use it got, back in the day. Were neighborhood children welcome to come play pick up games? Did the family have a child who loved basketball, spending hours out on the court, perfecting dribbling and shooting skills? Or was it just some novelty- nice to have but more for show than actual enjoyment?

Whenever I looked at it, I always felt such a sad feeling of long-forgotten games. And then my 5 year old grandson spotted it. His shout of joy could be heard all around. He ran as fast as his legs could take him, pushing his way through the overgrown weeds to stare up in wonder at the basketball hoop, so far above him. Before his daddy could even reach him, he was back on his way up to the house, his voice reaching us long before he made it to the door. “We need to get a basketball!”

Through his eyes, I no longer saw something old and useless. Feelings of hope and anticipation replaced the sadness. Even if there never was a child out on that court working on controlling the ball and scoring those points, I suspect that when little CJ comes to visit, that will all change.

This post is in response to the Photo Blogging Challenge prompt- Games.

10 thoughts on “Forgotten Games”

  1. This is a good take on the theme. Definitely a little different. Images like this are really cool, too, with the decay and beat-up look. Nice job and welcome to the challenge. Don’t forget to go back and link up (the post is up today) so others can come check it out! I only knew as I got the ping back.

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  2. So sad to see forgotten pieces of our neighbourhoods but, like you, whenever I do see one it always makes me think about what that place was first like, not only while being built, but when those first footsteps trod into it, bringing it alive. Then I wonder just what it was that started its decay and why it was left to fend for itself.
    Lovely photos, Kat. Quite spooky and would make a great setting for a ghost story.

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    1. It’s funny that you mentioned that. There are other pictures I took that border the basketball court that sparked something. I’m curious to see how this area looks during other seasons. For whatever reason, I never took pictures of this before even though it’s right outside my kitchen window. 🙂

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      1. I’d usually go further and try and find some photos on the web of the area before it was left to decay. I’m always intrigued by how an area looked in the past and why it was left to go into decay. There’s an old house, not far from me, that has been boarded up for years and I found some wonderful pictures of it from 40 years ago where is was in pristine condition with a happy looking family stood outside. I’m still trying to find out what happened to them and why the house has been left like it is.

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      2. That’s a great idea. I’m going to see what I can find. I actually know why the basketball court is in this state. It is private property that is on the market but because of its location, the only people who would really want it are the residents of the properties on either side of it. The owner is asking too much for it.

        I hope you are able to find out the mystery of the boarded up house! And thank you for the idea of digging deeper into this- I’m going to start looking for older pictures to see if there is anything out there that shows what this looked like. 🙂

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      3. I’ll let you know if I find anything, Kat, and good luck with your search as well. I quite enjoy delving into the past. I know they say “you should never look back” but I quite enjoy doing it. I don’t know why I never took up history at school.

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      4. I have always been fascinated with the past. I especially like learning about specific places and studying how they progressed from the past to now.

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