Tara VanDerveer: I remember playing, like, in the 4th grade, we had, like, a gym class. They started basketball with a three-player weave drill. They called it a three-man weave. You know, you pass and go behind, you pass and go, you know. And it was like—it was like love. I mean, I was like, I fell off this cliff. I’m like, “Wow, I love this game. This is really fun.” And I mean, I play all kinds of sports, and I’m crazy about all other kinds of sports too, but this one just grabbed me. And so, I was out—I was always either playing by myself, out shooting, or with my parents. You know, I remember in the 9th grade, my dad got a call from the librarian in the school that I was at, in 9th grade, and the librarian said, you know, “Mr. VanDerveer, I’m really worried about Tara.” And my dad was like, “What?” And she said, “Well, she’s read all the books in the library about basketball.” And in the 9th grade, I was out, like, shooting by myself for hours, you know, like—we’re talking 6, 7, 8 hours on a Saturday—and my parents were very confused. They were like, “Well, come on in and do your algebra homework. Basketball is never going to take you anywhere.” You know, I’m like, “Algebra’s not taking me anywhere.” But, you know, I mean, they just didn’t understand that I was crazy about basketball. And my mom one time came to a game we played in college, and back in the very old days, before—again, before Title IX—in college, we ended up playing in New York City here for a national championship. And we played a Thursday night game, we played a Friday morning game, and a Friday night game, because they had to compact the tournament, you know. They didn’t have the money or whatever to spread it out. We were exhausted. We lost our Friday night game, and I just remember just, you know, just being exhausted and just sobbing. Like, my mother was just like, “Well, Tara, it’s only a game.” And I’m like, “Mom, it’s not just a game.” And basketball has been my life, and I love it. I love the passion of it. I love the, you know, just the excitement, all the things I’ve done, traveled all over the world because of it, and the people I’ve met. It’s just—and because of this orange ball—it’s a little bit crazy.