*Originally published on June 29, 2012.

Finally! My favorite weekend every summer, Hoopfest, has arrived. In less than twelve hours I will be on the streets of downtown Spokane as I serve as a court monitor for my fifth consecutive year. Ask yourself, have you ever played in or watched a community 3-on-3 basketball tournament? Secondly, ask yourself, have you ever played in Hoopfest? If you answered “yes” and then “no,” I sadly have to inform you that you have never truly played in or watched a community 3-on-3 basketball tournament before. Spokane Hoopfest is a basketball event on steroids. Nothing compares…nothing even comes close. This year more than 7,000 teams will participate in the event and I can’t wait.

Tomorrow I will monitor twenty games with the first one starting at 8am and the last one ending at around 7pm. It is a long, but very fun, day. I arrived in Spokane about two hours ago. My parents are hosting my brother, his girlfriend, and his three Hoopfest teammates who make up the “SlumpBusters.” Along with them, I also have several relatives who are also staying with us as they will participate in the tournament as well. Not only is my parents’ residence filled with lots of people right now, it is also filled with tons of excitement. And while we might be overindulging a little too much on the beer and pizza at the moment, you can rest assured that all of us will be ready to go by tomorrow morning.

Although Hoopfest is by leaps and bounds the best 3-on-3 basketball tournament on the planet, they still decided to step it up this year. The game ball is the coolest version yet, the court monitor shirts are dri-fit, and the complimentary shoes each court monitor receives for volunteering are sick. Adding to the prospect that this will be the best Hoopfest yet, the weather forecast is absolutely perfect. Tomorrow calls for a high temperature of 82 degrees while Sunday is predicted to reach 78 degrees. This is ideal weather for the players, comfortable weather for court monitors, and great weather for girls to dress in whatever “cute” outfit they feel like. Bring it on.

My 2012 Hoopfest court monitor dri-fit shirt

If you are in Spokane this weekend and will be downtown, PLEASE stop by my court and say hi. I am monitoring an adult male court on Washington and Spokane Falls Boulevard. My court name is KXLY4 HD #1. Come bring me an energy drink (sugar free please) or stop by just to heckle me. If you are too busy watching other games to make it by my court, text me later and I will invite you over to my parents’ house for our big Saturday night Hoopfest BBQ. Remember to use the hashtag of #SpokaneHoopfest for all of your Tweets and Instagram photos.

Hoopfest 2012: The official game ball and my court monitor Nike shoes.

Let the fun begin! Good luck to everyone participating in some capacity in Hoopfest 2012! Hello again to all of my Spokane buds and welcome to all of my Montana friends who have traveled west for this weekend. Have a wonderful couple days in the Lilac City, it does not get much better than this. Don’t Blink.