2024-01-23 12:51:00
Interviews of players and coaches at the end of a game are usually a stage for clichés. The athletes arrive at the interview station and it doesn’t matter how professional or personal or creative the questions are, the answers will usually be prepared in advance. Some of the athletes are already experienced in this class and don’t even listen to the question and are ready with an answer they prepared in advance.
It’s not that these athletes have nothing to say, they have a lot to say, but they won’t say it just before a game or just after the end of the game, when their pulse is at 200. You can understand the barrage of clichés they shoot in these interviews: if they’re on the losing side – they’re just want to go home If they are on the winning side – they just want to go celebrate with their friends.
From time to time there are extraordinary interviews. deep renewing surprising funny exciting The success of these interviews does not depend on the interviewer but on the interviewee. There are examples of excellent interviewees who were always interesting to listen to: Effie Brivenbaum was like that in basketball. Charles Barkley was like that in world basketball. Diego Maradona and Eric Cantona were like that in world football. People you couldn’t tell what their answer would be. One of the most important things for a successful and interesting interview is the honesty of the interviewee. His ability to be open, accessible and genuine.
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Ironi Kiryat Ata met Maccabi Tel-Aviv yesterday (Monday) evening for a complete game from the first round. The northerners have not beaten Maccabi Tel-Aviv in 23 years. The last time they did this their current coach, Sharon Abrahami, played and even scored 12 points. Since that victory in December 2000, Ata has counted 12 consecutive losses against Maccabi. Ata came to the match between the teams last night after an excellent start to the season of seven wins and four losses.
Among other things, it is the only team in the league to beat the leader of the table, Hapoel Tel Aviv this season. On the other hand, Maccabi Tel Aviv, in its first major crisis of the season, came to this game after three losses in its last four games and after a very sad day for its coach, Oded Ketch, who lost The late Lior Lubin, his best friend.
Kiryat Ata led in most stages of the game and when the fourth quarter came they also achieved their record lead in the game which was 17 points. The one who stood out in this quarter was James Bateman, the 26-year-old guard who came to Kiryat Ata at the beginning of the season and is one of the leading players in the league this season with an average of 19.3 points per game. At the end of the game Ata won 86:78 and Batemon was chosen as the outstanding player. He arrived at the interview booth for another routine endgame interview, which was anything but a routine interview.
Noa Poplinger, the interviewer on the broadcast of the game on the sports channel (full disclosure: I edited the broadcast) asked Bateman: “How do you feel right now, after you beat a Euroleague team, in their hall, after your excellent performance?” And Bateman answered openly: “I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel right now. I come from Wisconsin, I’m not supposed to be here, and get such a big victory, against a Euroleague team. I’m very excited. I’ve worked hard all my life to get to this moment.”
It was a surprising and exciting and really unusual answer. It was an honest and moving moment. Poplinger continued with the second question: “What is special about this group?” And Bateman answered: “We keep fighting. We have scars. We make mistakes but keep fighting. We are a close group. Teammates invite me to Shabbat dinner. In difficult times in the history of the State of Israel, which has gone through such a difficult event, for us to unite together – this is something special “.
James Bateman???? @eitand1 @JBatemon5 pic.twitter.com/5SGXNdETx2
— Noah (@Noapoplinger) January 22, 2024
The atmosphere around the game yesterday was sad. The rumors of a serious incident in Gaza and the sudden death of the late Lior Lubin left the basketball public in Israel in shock. Lubin was a talented player who ended his career at a young age due to an injury and immediately moved to the position of coach. He radiated confidence and calmness to all the people around him and he was a humble and honest man.
All these events brought basketball into proportion. Also the surprising loss of Maccabi Tel Aviv, which is in an unstable period. And suddenly James Bateman came to the interview station and gave another dose of emotion that flooded the heart. This time it was a good dose of optimism, of hope, of a personal victory of an exciting person.
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