원주 용병 로드 벤슨의 한국 농구 바라보기

[BGRANT44]

원주동부의 로드벤슨은 유명한 블로거이고, 이전부터 Hoopshype.com에 그의 블로그 글을 게시해왔습니다.

그런데, 한국 농구에 대한 글을 좀 썼네요. 굳이 번역을 하고 싶지만, 오역의 소지가 많고, 그런 점이

어떤 면으로 영향을 줄지 모르겠어서 하지 않습니다.

로드벤슨의 의견에는 공감가는 것도 있지만, 좀 너무 한국농구를 비하한다? 한국 생활을 비하한다는

생각이 들 정도입니다. ridiculous가 어느 정도 관용구이긴 하지만, 그리 벤슨이 오래 한국에 뛸 것이라는 생각이

안들정도로 벤슨은 한국이 이해가 안되나 봅니다.

일단 올스타전을 중심으로 국내선수들은 열심히 뛰지도 않고, 이벤트성도 떨어진(자신은 엄청 웃기려고 큰 모자까지 준비했음에도)

것을 꼬집고 있고요.

정규시즌에서 자신은 20-10을 하지만 팀이 진다는 이유로 보너스도 없고, MVP포인트도 없는 차별까지...얘기하네요.

경기를 하면 무조건 더블팀을 붙는 재미없는 상황도 얘기하고 있습니다. 그 더블팀에 대해서 무조건 감독은 뚫어!!라고

하는 상황도 얘기하고 있고요. 이래저래 강동희 감독에게는 angry밖에 생각안나나봅니다.

경기 후에 샤워를 못하고 부산에서 그냥 원주까지 돌아와야하는 상황도 열받고요. 뭐..등등 있습니다.

한국 생활은 재미가 없고, 배울 것도 없고..그런가 봅니다.

딱 한가지 한국팬들의 열성적인 팬심 하나만 좋았나봅니다. 평소 생활할 때도 자신이 케빈 듀랭급 대우를 받는다고

적고 있습니다.

로드 벤슨이 한국의 사우나문화를 무시하는 것도 약간 비하라고 생각은 되지만..뭐...어쩌겠습니까.

암튼 부상없이 올 시즌 마치시고....우승도 하기를 바랄뿐입니다.

Basketball, Korean style

February 14, 2011 @ 11:37 am by Rod Benson · Filed under South Korea

You’re sitting in a particularly cold room, eating a plate of food that you don’t recognize. There is a faint smell of alcohol in the air, probably coming off of breath of one of the other 12 people in the room. Everybody is OK with this, though, because it is a celebration after all. You take off your headphones just in time to hear the end of a story:

“… And then he started throwing 50’s at random chicks, saying ‘B#!ch, I got money!’”

Wow. Must have been a good story.

You wade through a few people with cameras and cords and find your way to the back, where your shoes are waiting for you. You take a seat and smile. Who are you?

You’re me at the Korean dunk contest.

Let’s back track a bit, shall we? I’ve been playing in Korea since August and haven’t really talked about it at length with anyone. I spoke to my mom on the phone today and gave her the same response as I give everyone else:

“I’m ok, mom. It’s cool. I’ll be back in about 6 weeks.”

Remove the word “mom” and add “Coachella” somewhere in there, and that’s the extent of my description of ball in Korea and how I can’t wait to get back to see everyone. It’s time I changed that. I’ve almost completed the most ridiculous season of my career and nobody knows why it’s ridiculous. Since this may be the only time I go in depth about this, I’ll make sure you know it all.

Well, let’s see. I guess I could start by saying that there are quite a few things, culturally, that make it very interesting to be a basketball player here. For example, I don’t shower after games. Correction: I don’t shower immediately following games. This is particularly interesting when we play a game in the southern city of Busan, then take a three-hour bus ride back to Wonju (my city) and I don’t set foot in my apartment until 2 am.

So, after the away games, the entire team goes to a sauna. Sometimes both teams go. The sauna is basically a huge bathhouse that has a few huge tubs and a bunch of showers lining the walls. There are four key facts that you must know about this situation:

1. Everybody is completely naked.
2. If you want a towel, all you’re going to get is a hand towel.
3. There are many other random people not at all affiliated with the team in this room who all know who you are.
4. Koreans are quite curious.

My first time in the sauna I brought my own big towel, wore it up until I chose a shower in the furthest corner of the room, and then put it back on immediately after I was finished, all while my entire team sat naked in a tub together. The tub was simply a step that I could not take at the time. I figured that maybe some day I could reach that point, but that time never came.

My second time at the sauna was on the road. My teammate and I were the last ones to arrive. The whole team was already in the tub, while Victor and I were in the changing area. I started to change, first taking off my shoes, then my shirt. Then, when kicking my bag under the bench, I noticed a 40’s-ish Korean dude standing about four feet away from me, staring at my boom tho region, awaiting the unveiling. I stood there and did not move, waiting for him to change his gaze, but he didn’t. He looked up at my face, then back down. All the while keeping this same blank faced, open-mouthed stare.

It became a standoff. Victor was just laughing while I was confused. The guy seemed to have a “what are you waiting for” type of demeanor about him, so I figured I’d wait him out. He didn’t budge. I started to get pissed off because his coddamn open-mouthed stare didn’t change either. I turned to Vik and said, “Nope.”

I put my shirt back on and went to the bus. I haven’t been back since.

See, that day I learned two things: that I would never use the sauna again, and that the open-mouthed stare is a staple of the culture. I really see it quite often. My coach, or any coach in this league, uses it every time they don’t agree with a call, are mad at a player, or just in general disbelief of a play. When I see Koreans on the street for the first time, I most likely either see that, or they just erupt in laughter. There’s nothing like boarding an elevator full of people who just erupt when you step on.

To help you understand a little better, I’ve included this handy graph!

Besides the nonsense, the season has been going pretty well. We were in first, then went on a five-game losing streak. Now we’re winning again, so I get to avoid the stare face. Only one American can play at a time, so the game is really funny. There are basically eight guys, trying to get the ball to two, and then double-teaming the crap out of them once they get it. It’s kind of frustrating, but also extremely satisfying when I break a double team or it just doesn’t work. It makes me want to go to the other coach and say: “Sorry, try again.”

Somehow, out of this craziness, I was the only American voted to be an All-Star starter. That’s a pretty cool achievement, I say, especially since most of the guys in this league have similar stats – inevitable, considering how the game is played here. Still, I was quite impressed with myself after hearing the news. Transitioning to a new league isn’t always as easy as it seems it would be. Ask Allen Iverson or Steve Francis. The expectations are ridiculously high no matter who you are and the price for not meeting those expectations is a quick flight home. This league has had quite a bit of turnover, and I’m an All-Star. I’ll take it.

My buddy McLovin (his real name is Adam, but he was wearing a vest when I first met him two years ago) flew into Seoul to meet me on the first day of the All-Star break. The timing was perfect. We would hit the town that night, go to the dunk contest two days later, and the All-Star Game on that Sunday. Boom.

I bring this up so I can lead into what happened that night when we went out. We went to Itaewon, which is a place I generally avoid, but it was a Thursday and here wasn’t much else, and I wanted to show him what Seoul was like. There was no better time for going out than that particular weekend.

Anyway, we arrived at a place that all the players generally go, and we immediately saw Jeff Varem, former Wazzou baller turned KBL baller. Jeff and I have been competing against one another for years (he dunked on my college teammate Richard Midgley so hard that Richard had to take three tries before he got up off the ground), and somehow through the competition, we became friends. I’ve found that’s generally how it goes, and times like All-Star weekends you have an opportunity to catch up without the pressure of the game.

Jeff, McLovin, and myself hovered around the bar, telling old stories and generally just enjoying ourselves. It was all good until we relocated to the other side of the building. Now, the other side of the building was where most of the people were, and it was pretty full that night anyway. We moved right into the thick of the action, basically just to be a part of the crowd a little more. Bad move.

I’m telling you this story so you can understand something else about being a basketballer in Korea: people know you and treat you like a celebrity. It’s actually pretty cool to get recognized. It reminds me of college. But this is different. This is kind of like Kevin Durant attention. People go nuts after the game just for the chance to touch my hand. They give gifts to the players after the game, mostly doughnuts and always delicious. Heck, even the one time I went out in Wonju, it ended with a girl trying to pull me from my taxi when I was trying to leave. I tried to reason with her that I was going to bed, I had a girlfriend, and that her boyfriend would be mad, but she just kept screaming “I don’t care! I don’t care what he thinks! Please stay, Benson! Pleassseeeee!” None of that compares to what happened on this night.

So I go to the bar to buy a round for the three of us. At the bar, a pretty tall Korean dude approaches me and starts the usual game of random words and charades that I’ve gotten particularly good at. He says something about KBL (Korean Basketball League). I say “Oh, yea” kind of too loud while also nodding – exactly how the obnoxious American does it. I hate when that happens.

He then says something like “SK.” SK is one of the teams based in Seoul, so now I figure that he must play for that team. It’s kinda hard to hear him over “We No Speak Americano,” so I’m not sure. The conversation ends.

The bartender serves me, and I walk the drinks back to Jeff and McLovin. I turn back towards the crowd and see that the guy is just standing there at the bar giving me the open-mouth stare.

Weird.

I turn and take a sip of my drink, then turn back and now he’s RIGHT next to me.

Awkward.

“Ok. Oooookaaayyy,” I mutter, hoping that he understands that means that he should back away. Of course, he doesn’t.

“Hey guys, I’m gonna check out the other side of the room.”

I take off and head near the front of the place. As I talk to people up there, I forget that the guy was even bothering me. As time passes, I almost forget that I’m there with the other two guys, so I head back.

As I get close to our table, I see the guy standing near our table staring at me. Between us there is a huge rectangle-shaped table that has about 10-12 stools under it. This is an important detail, because the guy starts to walk around it to get next to me. I begin to walk around it the other way.

He stops and looks at me as if to ask if this has just become a game.

He then takes off in the opposite direction, so, naturally, I take off in the same direction so that we are both circling the table. He’s not going catch me because I’m now concerned and I just want to get back to my friends, who seem to have not yet noticed.

He changes directions. So do I. Again and again. We probably do between 8 and 10 full rotations around this table, knocking down bar stools, and bumping people along the way. This dude is determined to be next to me in the most frighteningly shocking of ways.

Finally, he bumps into some dude who grabs him. In the confusion, I run to the corner of the bar and hide. His back was to me, so there’s no way he could have seen me.

Wrong. Now he’s right next to me and grabs my wrist. I’m now about to defend myself because there’s no way I’m going to get Antoine Dodson-ed. Before I channel my inner Bruce Lee and enter the dragon, a security guard picks him up and walks him out.

“The speed with which he found you was remarkable,” McLovin says.

True, it was incredible how fast he found me. I have to thank the security for save. Without them, I might have ended up on the news with the headline: “They raping everybody out here.” Auto-tuned, obviously.

Two days later it was time for the dunk contest. I wont get into too much detail here, because there is video for that. I will say that I didn’t actually decide to be a part of it, the league just chose me to participate. I’m by no means a contest dunker, especially since I have an extremely conditional 35-inch jump and I’m lanky as anybody to ever wear a uniform. Still, I figured there would be one way to make it the most memorable moment on the year: Compete as Mr. Boom Tho.

The rules allowed for 30 seconds of free dunking, which was weird, but it did give me three tries. This ended up being a crucial detail because I had never tried to even jump in with the mascot head on, let alone dunk. When I put it on I immediately realized how difficult it was to see. I couldn’t see my feet or the ball, and I could just barely make out the rim. It was going to be a challenge for sure. I figured I’d just stick with the basics: one hand, two hands, and maybe a one-foot surprise.

Well, I missed two of them, since I could barely see the rim, but there was the magical moment where I got one down and I swear I could hear Bill Walton screaming “throw it down, big man.” This is the video of the moment:

And that’s all I have to say about that.

The All-Sar Game was the next day, but it was uneventful, really. There were a bunch of guys pretending they didn’t want to play hard, but that’s impossible. No matter what, we’re competitors. Once the second half started, it was back to guys trying to win. Still, it was the end of a long weekend and I was flat out exhausted. I still had 23 and 11, but since we lost I didn’t get the winning bonus, or the MVP bonus. Coddamit.

Well that’s about it for now. I’ll either have more to say about the playoffs, or I’ll be Coachella listening to Kanye West. Either way, the next six weeks will be quite interesting as I avoid crazy boyfriends, the “Antoine Dodson”, and public bathing.

Read more: http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/benson/2011/02/14/basketball-korean-style/#ixzz1E8aFbxOS

[Just...]

뭐 틀린 말은 아니지만.........좀 그렇군요....

[영건27]

머 재밌는 리그는 절대 아니죠 kbl.. 당연히 외국인 선수가 만족하기는 힘든 리그인것도 사실이구요.근데 늘 경기장에서 웃고 쇼맨십이 뛰어난 로드벤슨이라 전 늘 행복해보였는데 역시나 불만은 있네요.

[ll농구가이ll]

음냐 이런 뒷이야기가

[벤치워머]

무조건 더블팀 붙는거 .. 진짜 보기싫습니다 저도.ㅠㅠ

[정우성]

블로거로서 사실성에 바탕을 둔 블로깅을 한 것 같습니다.

[Shoot as Ray]

좋은 사실적인 내용이네요 앵그리코치 ㅋㅋ 더블팀가서 빼주는볼 외곽을 못쏘는 슈터들 영향이큰듯 ㅎ

[알럽바스켓공]

어느정도 공감은 합니다만, 기분이 조금 그렇네요;;

[Kobe 24]

기분이 좀 그렇긴해도.. 한국농구의 문제점을 낱낱이 파헤치고 꼬집는데 저는 딱히 틀린말이 없는거같아요..더블팀..코치..MVP차별..올스타전쇼맨십..파울콜 이상한거랑 속공 때 파울로끊는다는얘긴안햇나보죠?

[DMuse]

비하...는 아니죠. 있는 그대로 얘기한건데...
게다가 저기 언급된 내용들은 하나같이 이곳 게시판에서도 줄창 거론되던 문제라 이미 많은분들이 인지하고계시구요.
한국인이아닌 외국인들이 우리에대해 조금이라도 쓴소리를 하면 "한국비하"로 매도되는 경우가 종종있어서 안타까울때도 있네요.

[hooper]

2222

[CoreyBrewer]

333333

[이사장]

솔직히 한국 비하라고 할만한 내용은 없는데요? 있는 그대로 사실이 대부분이고.. 로드벤슨 약간 칭얼대는 성격이긴 하군요.. ㅋㅋㅋ 뭐 틀린 말은 없는데 기분이 씁쓸한것만은 사실입니다. KBL에서도 많이 참고해아할 만한 내용같습니다.. 사우나 쇼크야 뭐 외국인이면 우리나라와서 누구나 겪는 통과의례같은거더군요 ㅋㅋ 그래도 우리나라만큼 용병에게 극진하게 대우하는 리그가 몇이나 된다고...

[숀캠푸]

맞는말이네요

[토우]

케이비엘 진짜 반성해야함

[The Answer #3]

이게지금현실입니다선수가원하지안는플레이를하는데팬들이즐겁게볼수잇을까요체질개선이급합니다

[카페에산다]

어떻게 해를 더해갈수록 재미없어지는 KBL이니..........

[sang장]

시간을 내서 읽어보니 KBL비하나 한국 생활에 대한 불평이 아닙니다. 그냥 한국에서 있었단 가장 신기한 경험들 형식으로 일화를 쓴 거네요. 첫번째 얘기가 경기장에 샤워실이 없어서 목욕탕에 가는데 미국에는 공중목욕탕에서 다 벗고 들어가는 일이 없어서 자신은 너무 불편했다는 얘기입니다. 처음에는 나중에는 익숙해지겠지 했는데 두번째 갔을때 어떤 40대 아저씨가 옆에 서서 물건이 얼마나 큰 지 확인하려고 팬티 벗는 걸 기다리고 있었다는 얘기입니다. 그래서 버티면 가겠지 했더니 끝까지 입을 벌린채 지켜보고 있어서 그냥 나왔고 그 후로는 다시는 목욕탕 안가고 몇시간 걸려도 집에가서 샤워한다는 얘기죠.

[sang장]

뒤에 강동희 감독 얘기는 그 아저씨 표정이 생각해보니 감독이 화났을 때 표정과 같더라는 얘기고. 한국 사람들이 자신을 보고 그런 표정을 짓는 경우를 도표로 만든 겁니다. 자기가 엘리베이터를 타거나 공공장소를 가면 사람들이 그렇게 입벌리고 노려보거나 웃음을 터뜨린다는 얘기였죠. 그 다음 에피소드는 올스타게임 기간에 친구가 놀러와서 이태원 클럽에 간 이야기입니다. 이 친구는 이태원이나 클럽을 별로 안 좋아하는데 그때는 갈 곳이 거기 밖에 없어 갔었는데 뭔가 농구선수처럼 보이는 키 큰 한국인이 자기를 자꾸 따라다녀서 피해 다니다가 나중에 클럽 경비들이 그 사람을 내쫓은 얘기입니다.

[sang장]

한국에서는 자기가 케빈 듀란트처럼 인기가 있더라는 얘기하고. 자기 여자친구 있다고 하는데도 따라 붙던 여자 팬 얘기도 있고. 자기가 점프력이 거지같은데도 자기를 덩크 콘테스트 뽑아줘서 뭐 할게 없는지라 인형머리 쓰고 덩크했다는 얘기 (계속 실패했었는데 머리속에 빌 월튼의 목소리가 들리며 마지막에 성공했다는 얘기). KBL 약간 비하한 것은 있네요. 게임이 대충 용병 1명에게 4명이 공을 전달하고 상대편은 용병만 더블팀하는 전략이고 그래서 대부분 선수들 스탯이 비슷한데 자기가 올스타 뽑힌게 의외이고 나름 매우 기쁘다라고 했네요.

[sang장]

올스타전에 나온 선수들이 다들 자기는 전력을 다하지 않을거라고 했지만 실제 후반에 들어서니까 모두 이기려고 열심히 뛰더라. 자기도 지쳤었지만 23득점 11리바운드 했다. 그런데 자기팀이 지는 바람에 상금은 못탔다. (부당하는 얘기는 없습니다.) 뭐 이런 얘기입니다. 그런데 이 친구 동성연애자에 대한 약간의 공포가 있는듯 하네요. 샤워할때도 타월로 가리고 구석에 가서하고. 남자가 쫓아 오는 것에 심한 공포를 느끼는 것 같아요. Antoine Dodson은 자신이 강간당했다고 고백한 흑인 남자 동성연애자더군요.

[곤이]

sang 님 감사합니다

[Best_032]

22

[멋진남자야오밍]

저 따라왔다는 여성분과 그 쫒아다녔다는 남성분.. 두 사람의 정체가 정말 궁금해지네요 -0-;; 흑인 운동선수들에게 불결한 이미지와 의도를 가지고 접근하는 사람들도 있다고 듣긴 했는데 참..;;

[카라시니코프]

아 아저씨좀..사우나에서 그러지좀 말지..ㅡㅡ;;

[매직호크스]

맞는말이네요;; 반성합시다 kbl구단,선수,관계자 분들!!

[T-MAC & K.G]

비하까지 안했더라도 올스타관련은 비하받아 마땅합니다...
실력이 없으면 열심히 뛰던지 보여줄 쇼맨쉽들도 없고...밥도 안돼는 선수들 조차 이벤트에 참가해 설렁설렁대는 모습은 정말 꼴보기 싫습니다..

[Charles #34]

비하내용은 없는데요 그냥 차이를 설명한거지.. 이 정도 문화차이는 한국사람이 미국갔을때도 있습니다. 목욕탕 아저씨는 이상하지만 미국에서 한국사람이 인종차별 당하는거에 비해선 아무것도 아닌듯 미국에서 평범한 레벨이라 한국에서 줄창 더블팀 받는게 당연히 이상할테죠. 전국에서 알아보는 사람 많은 것도 신기할테고. 근데 덩치는 산만해서 동성애자가 따라다닌다고 무섭다고 숨는건 좀 웃기네요 싫으면 한방 먹이면 될텐데

[한영진]

덩치는 좋아도 싸움을 못하거나 무서워 하는거 같네요....;;;; 저도 180에 100kg이지만 고등학생들만 봐도 피해다니거든요...;;;ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ