Savion Welteroth
Savion Welteroth – June 14, 1998 10:03 AM
Nothing that I will do in real life will compare to the career I had in Pangea as a world class basketball player. They say that athletes are the last ones to know when they’re over the hill and should retire. Fortunately for me, that wasn’t the case. I went out on top and ended my career in the most perfect way possible – with my 7th Olympic win.
And that was a crazy game. I’ve gotten used to representing my beloved USA. I’m used to the packed arenas of screaming Pangea fans. I’m used to hearing the voices of the announcers over the loudspeakers as they narrate every play in different languages. I’m used to the competitiveness of the games where you have to be absolutely locked in order to hang with everyone. It’s a minefield of distractions and I’m especially good at blocking them out.
That’s what set me apart. I may not have been the most athletic in real life before I blew out my knee, but I was always a student of the game. In Pangea it’s all about your mind. How well can you control yourself in the game? How well do you know the ins and outs of the game? How well can you get into the mind of you opponent and get them off their game? I’ve always been great at those in real life as a coach’s kid so it’s been my bread and butter here.
I’ve been thinking about what story I want to tell when I give my retirement speech and I think I’m going to go with that final game. After all the hype that Chile’s team had coming into the game, we did that to them. A won point win at the buzzer that had everybody losing their minds. I’m never going to forget that shot. I can close my eyes and remember every moment before I took that shot in slow motion. And one of the things I remember was this guy in the front row who looked like he wasn’t paying attention. This is the Olympics final, people spend crazy money to be there. You have to submit for a lottery ticket two years in advance. No one wants to miss half a second. But this guy was in the front row looking at his phone or something. I always thought that was so weird. Even after I scored and the place erupted, he never looked up. He just stepped kept his head glued to his phone.
So weird. That’s gotta be my story
