Shoe Column: The elusive shower

By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan

It all happened because I wanted to take a shower.

The incident was in 1980.

Return with me now to that thrilling day of yesteryear when my goal was to settle under a soothing shower.

On that fateful day, I stepped into my upstairs shower at home.

But there was a problem. A big problem.

My shower was broke.

It didn’t work. No water came out.

Oh, what to do?

After a lot of serious thinking, I hopped into my car and drove five minutes to the Stevens Point Recreation Department behind the P.J. Jacobs parking lot.

I played many league basketball games at the “Rec,” and I knew the showers there were awesome.

But one problem. A big problem.

No games were going on. The place was locked.

So no shower for the Shoe.

What to do next?

It dawned on me that my alma mater’s Quandt Fieldhouse at UW-Stevens Point was a mere five minutes away from the Rec. Surely the fieldhouse would have available showers.

And so it was that I drove over there and parked the car in their parking lot.

With my towel and bar of soap in hand, I climbed the stairs outside and entered the back door.

I didn’t see a single soul.

Then came the walk.

I walked down some steps, having no idea of where to go.

Went down a hallway.

Took another turn.

Went down another hallway.

It was like a maze.

A guy could get lost down there.

Which I did.

After walking around for a good 10 minutes, I finally found the entrance to the Pointers’ locker room.

Nobody was in there.

So I took my shower. A great shower. A lovely shower.

And nobody knew I was even there.

I was very proud of myself.

But … then I had to get out of the place.

It would not be easy. A guy could get lost very easily.

And once again, I did.

I walked down some steps. Turned a corner.

Walked around a hallway.

Came to another corner.

And then …

What’s this???

I peeked around the corner and heard some noise.

Someone was kinda shouting.

And then I saw a foot. In tenner shoes.

A tall guy was sitting on the steps in the hallway.

I looked some more.

Another tall guy was sitting on the steps.

And another. And another.

Nobody saw me taking all this in.

I peeked again.

The only person talking was Dick Bennett.

The head coach of the UWSP Pointers basketball team.

The Hall of Fame coach. (Both Dick Bennett and his brother Jack are in the Hall of Fame.)

Mr. Bennett’s entire team was spread around on those hallway steps.

I only made out a few words, and Coach Bennett did not seem pleased.

“Box out!”

“You have to guard #14 more closely!”

“Pass the ball, Mike! He was wide open!”

The boys were getting chewed out. It wasn’t like Bobby Knight throwing chairs, but Mr. Bennett was strongly getting some points across.

I thought it just might be a smart time to get the hell out of there before being spotted.

So I walked around and around some more and finally arrived at the entrance of Quandt Gym.

The place was packed with people.

It was actually halftime of a Pointer basketball game!

And I just saw part of the halftime talk!

I looked up at the scoreboard.

The Pointers were winning by about 20 points!

I thought: Man, I’d hate to see the talk when they were losing!

But great coaches tend to inspire.

And that team was inspired!

The Pointers won going away.

After I saw the scoreboard, I took my wet towel, wet bar of soap, and went home.