All Stories
🏀

Aunt
Becky

Dejected high school basketball team huddled in an old Indiana gym as the captain speaks to them
1 / 10

Our team was in a downspin. Captain felt compelled to speak.

'Yo guys this is serious. How can we break our losing streak?'

A nervous reserve player named Todd speaking up while teammates turn in surprise
2 / 10

One voice broke the silence, unfamiliar and quite odd.

It was our reserved 'reserve forward', also known as Todd.

An elderly aunt sitting among fans in the wooden bleachers of an old Indiana gym
3 / 10

Well, it may be nothing really, I'm not sure how this will land…

But each time we've won a game, my Aunt Becky was in the stands

Todd tripping over the foul line during the final seconds of a game
4 / 10

The others mocked Todd, for he had only played one time.

Put in the last 12 seconds, he tripped on the foul line.

Team captain giving an order to laughing teammates near an elderly aunt at half court
5 / 10

They laughed and called Todd 'dufus', but Captain cut them short.

'Bring Aunt Becky to our next game. Seat her at half court'.

A dramatic buzzer beater shot as the aunt cheers courtside
6 / 10

Aunt Becky showed up next time, when our team was trailing…

Then Captain hit a buzzer beater! Then we kept prevailing.

The team captain walking out of the gym tunnel arm in arm with the elderly aunt
7 / 10

By our 9th straight victory, Aunt Becky was our charm.

She would lead us out the tunnel, holding Captain by the arm.

The elderly aunt seated proudly in the front row of the team bus
8 / 10

Then we won the districts, up next the championship…

Guess who sat front row, on the team bus for the trip?

Todd nearly fouling during nervous pre-game warm-ups as the team captain watches with concern
9 / 10

For the final we were nervous, Todd almost fouled out.

Then warm-ups ended, and we proceeded with a rout!

The team hoisting the aunt into the air in celebration while Todd stands with arms crossed in the background
10 / 10

Aunt Becky was hoisted in the air,

with cheers and much back-slapping.

But those who looked at later photos,

asked why her nephew wasn't clapping?

— The End —