Hoopla is a great athletic reunion for Salem
2022 event again filled the streets around the State Capital
Despite the 2020 cancellation due to COVID-19, the Oregon (Salem) Hoopla event looks stronger than ever, flooding the steets with hoops and hordes of teams from different generations squaring-off over a period of five days on the streets around the steps of the Oregon State Capitol.
I took a Saturday afternoon to watch some games, chat with old friends, and catch up with other people I haven’t seen in a year or two or ten.
Some were familiar faces who were no doubt hoping to avoid contact with me include current athletic directors like Sprague’s Clinton Gertenrich (kidding, Clinton), former Statesman Journal sports reporter Dan Itel, who is now running his own digital marketing company out of San Luis Obispo, California, and Matt Bonniksen—a former sharp shooting forward for the 1991 Sprague Olympian basketball team under coach Pete Shepard—who at present works as sports and event sales manager at Travel Salem. These names just barely scratch the surface of the folks on display on Court, State, and Cottage Streets among others. Also on hand are a long list of hoops officials like the nearly-ageless Steve Buhlen, and loyal, longtime sponsor, Fred Martin of F&W Fence Company.
And then there is event organizer Jason Unruh, ever-tanned and smiling as he keeps the brackets moving, while at the same time suiting up to play a few games with his own kids.
Mix that impressive list of celebrities with the always enthusiastic mob of young players at Hoopla, and you have a crowd bursting with energy to carry the entire event to its climactic end.
There is no doubt that Hoopla participants will always leave Salem very, VERY tired. A complete slate of games over two days under a warm summer sun will also tend to drain even the best of finely tuned athletes, whether they come from nearby places like South Salem and Silverton, or from less familiar locales such as the Rogue Valley or the Oregon Coast.
Youth teams always seem to have some “scouting” notes in hand as they line up—insightful reports on potential opponent weaknesses which they can utilize as a tool for victory or self-improvement. And it is great to see some parents, or other younger adults taking on the coaching role to help their siblings or neighbor kids climb the ladder of success.
Add in booths with food, basketball equipment or sports-promotion and the hundreds of spectators out to watch relatives play their games, and you have a fantastic occurrence that brings back everyone year-after-year-after-year.
Hoopla is about basketball. But it is also about MORE than basketball. The yearly get-together blends present goals of on-court triumph with victories from the past and the perpetual comradery of athletes that stretches back for decades.
I didn’t play one minute at Hoopla, and still felt tired and satisfied with the time I got to spend with so many familiar faces. And that is what makes this get-together so popular. Call it the “Ahh Factor.”
Great event for many years! Thanks for update on a great basketball tradition!