The Square Peg checks out….Plymouth Raiders!
October is a crazy month for us. Matthew (our eldest) and his close buddies all have their birthdays within a month of each other, so it’s birthday parties all round! Sunday 6th October was one buddy birthday outing to watch a Plymouth Raiders basketball match. I decided to bring our little Square Peg along too to see what he makes of a glitzy basketball match.
What is a Plymouth Raiders basketball match like?
I have never, ever been to a basketball match before, so I had no idea what to expect or how the Square Peg would react to it. A basketball match is a noisy experience, lots of loud music, a commentator, the crowd shouting, cheering, booing, flashing lights and of course the cheerleaders. At Raiders there is also a giant Fox walking around entertaining the crowd. So if your autistic child doesn’t like noise then be sure to bring the ear defenders. Edward doesn’t seem prone to sensory overload so he sat there just taking it all in and stimming with excitement.
How long does a Plymouth Raiders Basketball match last?
I had no idea how long a Basketball match lasts. They actually only play for 40 minutes with 10 minute quarters…..However, the time is stopped everytime play stops, a team can call Time Out at anytime too. At one point, Plymouth Raiders called ‘Time Out’ with 4 seconds to go! I mean come on, what’s 4 seconds? So in actual fact, the whole match lasted for two hours! Having said that, the match doesn’t seem to get boring, everytime there is a ‘Time Out’ the Cheerleaders come on with their shiny Pom Poms. Edward absolutely loved this and pretended to dance saying ‘I got my Pom Poms!’ The nine year old boys were also somewhat transfixed by them too.
The Half time shoot out!
Half time was another exciting time for the little Square Peg. If you paid a quid you could take part in the half time penalty shoot out. Edward couldn’t wait and was stimming with excitement whilst he was waiting in the queue. When it was his turn, he didn’t understand that he had to stand a certain distance away from it, so he just walked right up to the basket and put the ball through the hoop.
The big boy buddies all got to have a go on the full size basket. No one managed to score a basket or even do some slam dunking but Mummy of a Square peg managed to get some pretty wicked photos.
The Square Peg’s verdict.
I’m pretty sure that Edward didn’t follow the game at all, but he was certainly very excited when Plymouth Raiders scored a 3 pointer and he could wave his card with the number 3 on it.
All in all, it was a successful trip out with the Square Peg. But, because I didn’t know how long a Basketball match would last I only put 2 hours on the car, so for the last quarter I had started to panic that I was going to get a ticket. Note to self:- next time, find out how long matches generally last before you decide how long to buy a car ticket for.
We can’t wait to go again! #FollowtheFox
