I made some great friends and had some great times.
I’ve heard it all about how bad Connecticut is.
Spare me, c’mon.
Because they don’t have a team of their own, they can choose any team they want.
There were some Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics fans mixed in, but in smaller numbers.
When I arrived, the Pop Warner football season had just ended, and basketball had already started.
I wasn’t in high school yet, so the only game in town was “Church League.”
A friend of mine in Sharon, Massachusetts, was a really good basketball player.
He invited me to sleep over his house and go to his Church League game the following morning.
Sitting in the stands with his family, I wondered why Jewish kids couldn’t play Church League.
It made no sense to me, but who was I to change that?
The other eight teams were from different Christian denominations.
My best friend, Tom Cikatz, played forDivine Providence, a Polish National Catholic Church.
Before I moved to Norwich, I lived in New London but attended Kelly Junior High in Norwich.
The place was tiny, but the food was great.
I played basketball all afternoon, mostly with inner-city black kids.
We played full-court four-on-four, and the winner kept playing.
He called me"Aussie,“and I never knew why.
By the time I got on the roster for Beth Jacob, I was primed and ready to go.
All the games were played at an elementary school gym.
It was a 3/4 court that doubled as an auditorium, with a stage at one end.
We made it to the finals and the championship game againstDivine Providence.
Tom and his cousin, Mark Kozak, were nicknamed"The Twin Towers.
When he decided to go to the rim, he was unstoppable.
Even when we played one-on-one in his driveway, he took the shit seriously.
Both Tom and Mark were on that team, the Red Sox.
We knew Divine Providence was gonna be tough to beat.
Once the game began, Tom started driving to the hoop, and we couldn’t stop him.
If you fouled him, he was usually perfect from the line.
I knew I had to foul him to prevent the easy layup and stop the clock.
Paul was a great kid: bleach-blonde hair and a big smile on top of a skinny frame.
We immediately called time out with Divine Providence up by two.
I was the new kid, a late addition to the team, but I had the hot hand.
Divine Providence didn’t challenge the inbound pass like I thought they would.
Instead, they hung back and protected the rim.
It’s not like I hadn’t fantasized about that moment daily while shooting around in my driveway.
If I didn’t hit it, I’d do it till I did.
Everyone in the elementary school gym stood and watched the ball descend…
Despite my heroics, he wasn’t gonna be denied.
I knew that look.
Larry inbounded the ball and threw it to me.
Once he hit the floor, he appeared to be having convulsions.
Everything stopped, and a few men ran up on stage to help him.
I just held the ball as it got very quiet in the gym… We were all pretty scared…
The game was halted, and Mr. Sohn left in an ambulance.
On my way home, I asked my father what had happened.
He said Mr. Sohn had epilepsy and had an epileptic seizure.
When I got to school the following day I found out nobody else slept too well either.
We all looked exhausted.
He wanted Teddy to bring the ball up and take the shots.
Tom was on fire; he wanted to win badly.
Teddy missed a bunch of shots, and we got behind by seven points within minutes.
I made a couple of shots, but it was too little too late.
Ultimately, Divine Providence went home with the trophy, and Tom was the MVP.
Tom busted my chops for weeks after, and 50+ years later, he’s still doing it.
I’m #86 (game jersey #22), sitting beside Coach Pop Congdon.
My good friendKevin Quigleyis #42, third row, first player from the right.Nick DiStasiois #82.
#79 is Dan Grillo.
I always thought someone should’ve changed his last name to “Gorilla” he was so fucking strong!
This was a really good football team with a lot of great kids who became friends.
I expressed my concerns to my father, who said Mr. Sohn was fine.
The history lingered like a heavy cloak over the stadium.
Maybe it’s a Connecticut thing?
Here’s a recent photo of Tom.
He was one of the first to buy a Prostate Cancer Awareness Cap.
He’s one month older than me, and he and his wife Lauri have two adult sons.
One shares a birthday with me.
Tom and some of my best friends are Yankee fans…
