Buckets, Bragging Rights & Free Lunch

The Epic Saga of Our Company Basketball Club

By Sean Park, Director, Corporate Marketing

Every Friday evening, when laptops close and email alerts go silent, a different kind of competition begins. It’s not Poker Night — it’s on the court. Welcome to our company’s intense, yet fun and borderline-competitive tradition: the Basketball Club.

Two Teams. One Court. Unlimited Trash Talk. We’ve split into two fierce squads:

•   Team Youngins – Agile, under 35, full of energy, fast recovery time, questionable shot selection, and memes.

•   Team Vintage – 35+, wise, battle-tested, armed with experience, heat wraps, and unsurprisingly good ball movement. And if you think youth equals dominance, think again. Over the past two years, Team Vintage has led the rivalry 5–2. Age may come with creaky knees, but it also brings fundamentals, strategy... and the kind of psychological warfare only Gen X and older Millennials have mastered.

Every month ends with a best-of-three showdown. The stakes? Losers buy lunch, winners earn eternal bragging rights — and possibly a starring role in the next office meme.

Games get heated. Elbows fly. Ankles (figuratively) shatter. Strategy sessions have happened during lunch breaks. Plays are drawn on whiteboards. We’ve even seen folks watching YouTube highlight reels mid-shift for “inspiration.” And yes, we keep it mostly civil — emphasis on mostly.

No one’s dunking (yet), although we have a Benson Boone doppelgänger who can touch the rim on a good day. Still, the moments we live for are pure magic:

•   A wild 35-footer that somehow banks in.

•   A swat into the third row that echoes “NOT TODAY.”

•   A no-look dish that would make Magic Johnson nod in approval

These moments? They keep us coming back. It’s more than just a ball. It’s watching coworkers go from “what’s a pick-and-roll?” to dropping fadeaways like mini Kobes. It’s about women joining in, new employees jumping in headfirst, and even our General Manager trading quotas for jump shots. It’s the laughs, the effort, the good-natured memes that come flying in Slack Monday morning.

Through every bead of sweat, every “borderline flagrant foul,” and every Monday soreness, we’ve built something special. We’ve grown together, both on the court and off — from beginners to veterans, from coworkers to teammates.

So while it’s not the NBA or WNBA — and let’s be honest, no scouts are showing up anytime soon — this club has become a highlight of our week. It’s where cardio meets comedy. Where the pursuit of victory meets the joy of community. And where free lunch tastes better when you didn’t have to pay.

See you Friday. Bring your sneakers…and your IcyHots!