Ways of the McKays: Basketball Season Is Starting

Good morning, readers! Well, morning time there at least. I wanted to give an update on the upcoming basketball season for BK Kapshagay. Their first games are scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9th and Wednesday, Oct. 10th against Astana. This is their official first game that will count toward their season record. How exciting!! Heath said Astana has been undefeated for a number of years now, but maybe this year will be different.

Remember how I mentioned in this post that their "home" games are actually still two hours away?? There is a sports complex in Taldykorgan City where the games take place, and the team leaves a day or two before the game to settle in. You can see pictures of the sports complex at the bottom of this post. It's weird and crazy; I know. Therefore, the team technically never has a "home" game because they have to travel at least two hours to play a game. This is the second year for BK Kapshagay to be a part of the National Basketball Federation, so hopefully they get their stuff figured out for years to come regarding "home" games.

Because of the travel to "home" games, I was worried I wouldn't be able to watch Heath play any games at all since I still had to go alone to them. I didn't want to travel alone for safety reasons, especially with it being two hours away. Ummm... have you seen the movie Taken? Luckily, the club is allowing me to travel with them to "home" games in Taldykorgan City. This means I travel on the team bus, and I get to stay with Heath in their dorm-like rooms. I would just be responsible for my food when traveling with them. This is GREAT news! I can't wait to see Heath play a game. The last game I've ever seen him play was in the final round of the NAIA National Championship game last March.

Here's the catch. Kazakhstan is hosting the AIBA World Boxing Championships (Like what? That's a thing?) through the entire month of October, and is using complexes in and around the Almaty region. This includes the sports complex in Taldykorgan City. The basketball club didn't even know about this until three days ago. Not. A. Joke.

So the "home" games planned for the month of October now have a new location-- in Astana. This basically means there are no "home" games for me to watch until the boxing championships are done because I'm not allowed to travel with them to away games. Although I won't be able to catch a game until November, I am excited for both Heath and Nate to experience more of the country. Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan, and I've heard it's very city-like there. Some articles even compare the culture and luxury to that of Dubai. Ooooohhhhhh, aaaaaahhhhhh. The team gets the day off tomorrow (Saturday-- the guys live for this), and travel by train to Astana the following day. The coach said it would be an overnight train trip-- they leave at 1 PM Sunday and arrive at 9 AM Monday.

Then there's little ol' me. I will be holding down the fort, keeping it nice and clean just the way I like it. I will miss Heath and Nate and their cheesy smiles, but I bet they'll miss me more. Or I can pretend like they will. I hear commotion coming from the living room. Looks like someone lost in NBA 2K14. Just another normal night here in K-Town.