The Reader‘s archive is vast and varied, going back to 1971. Every day in Archive Dive, we’ll dig through and bring up some finds.
The story is long. But so is the basketball championship season. Joravsky thoughtfully organized the whole thing in short sections that read like diary entries. Draw it out. Savor it.
I wanted Terrell to sink those shots because in 23 years of coaching Manny Weincord had never won a basketball title. Because Roosevelt was an average team in an awesome league. Because they played on slippery floors in dimly lit gyms before empty bleachers without cheerleaders, bands, or even parents present.
I wanted him to make those shots so that tomorrow’s papers would have to cover them. Because the papers rarely cover them, and the scouts rarely watch them, and their last title was in 1952, when the school was Jewish and Manny was on an Army ship bound for Korea.
I had this idea that if they won, Terrell would be a star, and the papers would quote Manny, and the school would hold a pep rally, and they’d bedeck the auditorium with bunting of blue and gold, and when the team hit the stage their classmates would cheer. My God, I wanted them to win.
