Posted by Melanie Curtsinger, Friday, November 19, 2010, 8:45 AM
The Orlando Magic and the citizens of Central Florida have a shiny, sparkling new arena, packed with amenities at every turn. The fans undoubtedly love the new spaces in the Amway Center such as the Budweiser Baseline Bar, the Gentleman Jack Terrace and STUFF’s Magic Castle kid’s zone presented by Club Wyndham. The Magic players and coaches love their new digs as well, from the new underwater treadmill (even though Jameer recently lamented that he actually hated it because it was too hard) to the state-of-the-art equipment in the weight room and the spacious new locker room area.
But of all the new amenities in the building, there is one in particular that a certain Magic player finds the most fascinating. That one player would be Ryan Anderson, and that one amenity would be… a ball rack.
But you see, this isn’t any ordinary ball rack. No, this ball rack is possibly the only one of its kind in America. It is actually made into the wall, such as a built-in bookshelf would be.
Anderson doesn’t find it fascinating just because of its architecture, however – he instead is fascinated by trying to bounce a ball on the ground and actually make it in the ball rack; which, like trying to get three superstars to play together on one team, is easier said than done.
These days, it’s not uncommon to find Anderson finish a two-hour grueling practice, and immediately look around for Basketball Operations Coordinator Brad Jones and say, with a smile on his face, “Snoggle?”
Yes, Snoggle. Anderson has made a name for his new game, which he said just “came to him in a vision one day,” he made up rules for it (two points if your ball makes it on the top rack, one point for the bottom) and he even has a “Snoggle dance” that he does when he wins a game, which to me looks more like he is going into convulsions.
You might say he has too much time on his hands. I personally say it’s hilarious. And because it’s just not possible to describe this game without any visuals, be sure to check out the accompanying video to get a little behind-the-scenes look at Ryan Anderson’s favorite aspect of the new Amway Center – a ball rack built into a concrete wall and a little game he likes to call… Snoggle.
E-mail Melanie your thoughts at thatswhatshesaid@orlandomagic.com.
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