May 18 - We discovered the local basketball team, Barsy, here in Atyrau, Kazakhstan. They played the Almaty team, Irbis, in the country's championship series (best of 5). We went to game three with the series tied 1-1. Barsy was about even at the half, but was destroyed by the end of the game, losing 69-48. We had fantastic seats - actually, everyone did because the gym was so tiny! - and we were warned that we were sitting behind the spirit section. Undaunted, we kept our seats but by the half, decided to move elsewhere! Imagine a group of about 25 young men loudly chanting and loudly singing non-stop throughout the entire game. We don't think they had any idea what the score was or what was taking place, instead, they were there solely to provide moral support and love for their team. It was very exciting to see a few American players!
Rhonda is the Barsy's new and biggest fan!
There were at least three American players on each team. We have discovered that Americans can have good careers in European and Asian leagues. (Picture from internet - we didn't get a great one.)
Panoramic view from our new seats away from the cheering section.
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