But a long-running pickup basketball game that I play in, made up of people with various political leanings, including Trump supporters, remains intact. I explored the group’s dynamics in my 2020 memoir. In March 2025, we will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
As a former psychology professor who has written about the impact of participation in team sports, I think one of the secrets to our longevity is simple: We don’t talk politics.
Evolution of the game
Our semiweekly pickup game has seen several transformations. It started in 1975 as a faculty-student game at Guilford College, a small Quaker school in Greensboro, North Carolina. And we played in an old gym, known as the Crackerbox, once the home court of former NBA players Bob Kauffman, M.L. Carr, and World B. Free.
Over the next 35 years, the game moved to a newer gym, went from half court to full court, and back to half court. Students and faculty moved on, while others joined the game, including many people from the Greensboro community.
As we aged, our game came to be known as “the geezer game.” These days, the average age of players is 64, with an age range from 32 to 79.
Since 1975, besides an 18-month stretch when we didn’t meet due to COVID-19 restrictions, the game took place three times a week before COVID-19 and has taken place twice a week since pandemic restrictions were lifted.
