The mecca of Indiana basketball

When I saw that Chris had a game at Milan High School this year, I knew I had to go with him. (Even though it was on my mom’s birthday. Thank goodness she’s a basketball fan and was born in Milan. She understood why I had to go!)

Surely, you’ve heard of the 1954 Milan basketball team and the famous game-winning shot by Bobby Plump. Or maybe you saw how the team’s story inspired the movie Hoosiers.

* * Side story #1 * *

Back in 2005, one of the events I helped plan at the hospital featured Bobby Plump as the guest speaker. Not only did Chris and I get to meet Bobby personally and take a picture with him, Chris introduced Bobby before his speech. The lead event planner knew how much Chris loved basketball and the movie Hoosiers, so he asked Chris to do the introduction. It was a neat day for both of us!

* * Back to your regularly scheduled blog post. * *

I was very excited to see the home of the famous Milan team. So Chris let me tag along with him. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to see the water tower.

Here is the championship banner in the gym.

In the movie, Hickory was portrayed as a real underdog. But Milan actually made it to the State Finals the year before they won. So it wasn’t a complete shock that they won in 1954.

Center court says “The Heart of Hoosier Hysteria.”

There is a wall of fame in the lobby of the gym. Bobby Plump is wearing the basketball net around his neck.

The game ball.

And the winning trophy.

This scoreboard in the lobby had the score from the real game. But it was turned off by the time I had a chance to take a picture.

Now, here’s the real reason I went to the game: to watch Chris ref!

He was the head referee. In this role, he leads both the coaches’ meeting and the team captains’ meeting. I always see how much he loves officiating when he leads these meetings. He’s so happy and animated.