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The Ultimate Fan
For about $3, no college or professional
game will ever match the excitement high school sports has to
offer.
Roger Houle
 This exhibit in
Hometown Hoops reproduced Roger Houle's
basement rec room. The room bears witness to Roger's basketball passion. Its walls are layered
with signs, banners, t-shirts, photos and programs.
Roger Houle's father, Reynold, introduced him to many sports, but
basketball created a bond between them. During his playing days at St.
Matthew High School in Flint, Roger counted on his father's support.
In later years, trips to playoff games around the state included four
generations of the family, continuing their basketball tradition.
Where's the Leather?
One of the artifacts in the rec room is a plain black
basketball, black
because it is missing its leather cover (visible behind the picture in
the lower left corner of the photo above). It has a paper label taped to
it with Roger Houle's comments:
At one time this basketball was covered with fine leather. Now it
sits in this room as a silent reminder of yesteryear. With only its
black rubber left to show, it has been '"Dribbled" and shot over a
million times in the past 30 years. It is a part of our heritage going
back to our Dad and uncles. This ball has seen no rest through the
decades, it's been shot in the dead of winter, in the heat of the summer
and from dusk till dawn. It's been shot by the likes of "Wilt the
Stilt," "Goose" Tatum, Bob Cousy, Jerry West, "Hondo," Pistol Pete,
Larry Bird, Cazzie Russell, Bill Russell, Bill Walton, Kevin McHale,
"Great Dew Rod," Magic, Abdul, Antoine and the great Michael Jordan. IT
knows the thrill of victory and agony of defeat. But in the end it knows
how each of us loved it, especially when it left the tips of our
fingers, a moment of silence, and the "Swish," Oh so Sweet!
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