Sports - Basketball

A number of sports are popular over here, both as spectators and as players. However, if you were to create a list sorted by popularity, you'd find few matches within the top 5 when comparing to the 'States. What are the most-liked sports over here? Soccer is at the top, unsurprisingly. Second place is a mixture of rugby, badminton, beach volleyball, even ping pong. Somewhere down below, is basketball.

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With my growing network of new acquaintances from weekly bible studies in Zürich, it appears more and more likely that we'll get a game together in the not-too-distant future. In the meantime, after work when the weather is nice, I'd do well to get some exercise and a little practice in.

When I first got here, basketball courts were few and not easy to spot. I know of a couple hoops in a city park a short walk South from the apartment. And I just found one along the bus route to the center of town. I took a visit to this location yesterday, and this is what I found:

Not a bad park overall. It's got plenty of trees, a good stretch of grass, benches, fountains, and a cobblestone plaza. There're also 3(!) permanent outdoor ping-pong tables. With such support for table-tennis, you might think the basketball court has a good shot of being well-built. Judge for yourself:

A dusty asphalt surface slopes downward at the far net, for drainage from the building.

The near hoop sits in some shade, with the grassy park beyond the fence.

More park. The fence is welcome for preventing runaway balls.

Did you think Rivercrest was hardcore? How about SCH 40 hoops?

So the quality leaves a bit to be desired. Other than that, the park is quite nice. And it's in a convenient location for shooting around after work. I'll just have to get used to hearing a rattle instead of that satisfying 'swoosh'.