A TV volleyball star in Israel

January 22, 2009 - 10:47 AM by David · 1 Comment
Filed under: Immigrant Moments, Israeliness, Life, Sports

Queens of the volleyball court

While we used to only have one TV station here, now media options are almost as diffused in Israel as they are in the US.

HOT, YES, satellite TV, we’ve got it all – and you can watch alot of the same crap that’s on American TV any time you want. Still, there was something a little precious about the whole country being tuned into one show, having that common bond, and knowing that the next day your co-worker almost certainly watched the same thing as you did last night.

So the fact that my 17-year-old daughter played yesterday in a high school league volleyball game broadcast live across the country on Israel TV doesn’t hold the same weight it might have once held. But it was still pretty darn thrilling nonetheless.

As captain of her Beit Hinuch Jerusalem team, she had read a little statement on mike with the other team’s captain and shake hands before the game. The best of five series was well played and action packed, with Sarit’s team only succumbing in the final tie-breaking match.
Hearing the commentators intone with perfect Hebrew inflection “Sarit Brinn” everytime she returned a ball or made a save, was a huge kick. And the one time they called her “a smart player” put me over the top.

I wish the whole country had been watching the broadcast, but even if it was just my wife, my older daughter and myself cheering and stomping on the floor, it provided one of the great moments of my aliyah. Zionism through volleyball.

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