Above The Rim

1987. I was in sixth grade and all I ever thought about was basketball. And having my very own air jordan shoes. All my rich classmates had them, and it was common belief that sporting a pair added at least 12 inches to one's vertical leap. I did the computations: I was around 5 feet six inches then (66 inches); an arm extended over my head added 24 inches more. 66 plus 24 is 90. With a vertical leap of approximately 19/20 inches, I could reach up to around 110 inches. A standard basketball rim stood 10 feet (120 inches) tall. That meant, the mighty air jordans would make the coveted tap-rim possible. The dunk would not be too far away. But you know how this story ends. My father came home one night all excited. He had just bought me my first pair of Reeboks.