1/ I was teaching English in Prague and checking the internet between classes.
Slam Online were running a quick competition on their messageboards - nothing fancy, just fun. It was March 3rd, 2009, and editor Ryne Nelson said it was "Square Root Day - first person who knows why it's called that gets a prize."
Right place, right time, I put the answer and got in touch with Ryne. A month later, a great hat (that I never wore, but that I did donate to a hoops shop here, so all good) arrived, and I wrote to the guy to thank him.
A couple of weeks later, I wrote to say "actually, we're heading to Warsaw for Britain's first ever trip to EuroBasket - would you like me to write a couple of pieces? Could be some interesting content for you in a generally fallow period."
He was in, so I sent in three pieces (one submitted at 7am after a whole night of drinking with the enthusiastic Slovenians at the hostel we were staying at) and they did alright. Here is day one of our trip, this was day two and finally, day three!
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| Slovenia vs Spain at EuroBasket 2009 in Warsaw |
I followed up a year later and submitted this, a light-hearted article pitched as a "basketball fan's guide to the FIFA World Cup".
2/ a friend in Prague was an old colleague of a man who'd gone on to work for FIBA. This friend of mine was always very encouraging, and he put us in touch. I showed him examples of my basketball writing, including the above (articles on a reputable site), as well as emails I'd been sending a (frankly disinterested) good friend - the current NBA season explained to someone who pays scant attention to the sport.
The FIBA guy noted me, but I didn't hear any more for a few months.
I've actually just seen, in trying to find the old links, that I sent a follow-up mail in 2011, just because Blake Griffin was taking off in USA (just as a basketball fan, "wow have you seen this guy?!"). Maybe that helped to jog the guy's memory, and a few weeks later he said there's a tournament in Czech Republic, would you be able to help?
And the rest, as they say, is history...