Basketball Off the Court

Edó and Csabi regularly went out to play basketball in Cambrils. They used several courts, most often the ones set up in schoolyards. Usually they took over one basket, shooting or playing one-on-one. Both of them were in good shape, in their mid-thirties. While Milán was at school, this was their favorite way to spend time.

Edó could still shoot with precision and style. Her movement was clean, practiced, natural. Csabi was nowhere near her level. People noticed it quickly. It often happened that guys shooting at the other basket would call them over to play a full game. By then, a small group had usually gathered on Edó’s side as well. When teams were picked, the first choice was Edó. Not Csabi, not one of the taller guys. Edó. Csabi watched this with pride every time. She was the only woman on the court, yet she was chosen first. It was impossible not to notice the years of experience in the way she moved and handled the ball.

Word spread around town. There was a Hungarian woman here who played at a high level and was always ready to join a game. If they did not find her on the court, they approached her at Milán’s school. That is how she ended up playing with local auto mechanics, high school teachers, and even the coast guard team. The last one was a serious game, Cambrils against Barcelona. They arranged some kind of license for her and even sent her to a sports doctor. They never saw the papers and did not care. The Spanish would figure it out.

It created a special situation. At Milán’s school, they would pat him on the back. “Your mom is the basketball player, right?” In local bars, they were not allowed to pay. A coffee, a sandwich, an ice cream always ended up being “taken care of.” “You play on the same team as our son, Edó. There’s no way we’re letting you pay.” Csabi just stood there watching. In those moments, he was almost invisible. Half joking, half serious, he felt like the wife of a famous football player.

This was one of the happiest periods of Edó’s life. She went out for a run on the beach early in the morning, came home, took a shower, and drove Milán to school. The ball was already in the trunk. She would head to one of the courts and work. At noon she picked Milán up, they had lunch, rested for an hour, then she took him back to school. In the afternoon, she trained at the local pool. She was in excellent shape.

Meanwhile, Csabi was often stuck in Hungary for weeks because of work. For Edó, all this was not just a way to pass time, it was something that kept her steady. When Csabi came home, he would just look at her.

“My God, Edó… if you keep this up, one day I’ll come home and someone will have taken you from me. Compared to you, I look like an old man. I need to start working out.”

And he did.

Basketball helped Edó in the most unexpected situations. It was the sport that had lifted her out of the steel factory world. A girl from Miskolc became one of the favorites in Cambrils.