Halloween

My name is Kevin Owens and I have been playing professional basketball for the past six years. I decided to start a blog documenting my daily life. I don't particularly think I am that interesting, however when telling people about the traveling circus that is my life, they seem very entertained.

I like to refer to my self as an "athlete for rent." I sit with a vacant sign around my neck every August waiting for a team to sign me up. Once that happens I am whisked away to various countries on a few days notice. I then arrive in a country that speaks a different language and am ordered to perform mistake-free basketball for ten months, while people tell me how bad I suck in whatever broken English they can muster up. The life of a professional basketball player is not as glamorous as it appears…Wait correction: My life as a professional basketball player is not as glamorous as it appears. Despite the flaws I still love what I do. I was able to get married, buy a house, and have my summers free to get better and watch my beloved Philadelphia Phillies. This job brings with it a lot of benefits, as well as a lot of stress.

The title of this blog is a reference to the famous 20th century Samuel Beckett play Waiting for Godot. It is a story about two characters waiting for a man who never arrives. The past two years, I have been waiting for a team to arrive and take me to their strange land where I can perform my trade. Kosovo finally arrived in March. Despite my successes there, I now find myself again waiting.

The past few weeks have been very stressful. When I arrived back from Kosovo in May I was contemplating retirement. The one thing I said throughout my career is if I can still perform at this level, I will keep going. I feel like I am still capable. However, I told myself that I would not get into the same waiting game as last year. So I set up a projected retirement date of October 1st. If I was still at home waiting, I would move on and leave the semi-glamorous life behind… Well it is now October 31st. As much as I enjoy giving out candy to the unoriginal high school kids who come to my door, (a burglar and a dude in a t-shirt…really guys?) I can’t help to think I might be better off, you know, with a FREAKING JOB!!

In the beginning of the month a team from Sweden offered me a contract telling me I had to leave the following day for 8 months. That was a fun conversation with my wife. “Hey honey, watch the house and mow the lawn, I will be back in May.” However despite agreeing to all their ridiculous demands, they rescinded the offer and took a player who was probably cheaper and less talented. I love the way foreign teams operate. When I was young I was told I needed experience, now that I have experience I am too old. It is no wonder half the teams in Europe are folding.

So now I am about to sign a contract to play in the NBA D-League for one more shot at the big time. I will continue to document my progress on a weekly basis. Now if you’ll excuse me Phillies-Yankees World Series Game 3 starts in just over an hour and I have to mentally prepare.