Kansas City

Am I currently in Kansas or Missouri? This is the age-old question I asked myself as I traveled through both states, unsure of which one I stood in at any given moment. 

'Hey look, I'm in Missouri, and now I'm in Kansas, now I'm back in Missouri' making these statements as I drive through the city is something only a non-local would say, as a true local would roll their eyes at my terrible attempt at a joke that I'm sure they've heard a million times. Regardless, I have three goals for any city I visit, and for Kansas City, the checklist was clear:

• Eat BBQ

• Checking out a riverboat casino

• And of course, playing pickup basketball.

Finding food in a major city is usually the easy part. Just like in Chicago where I felt obligated to hit three different pizza joints, I had to give the KC BBQ scene a fair (dream)shake. For those who read this blog for the exploration/food without the hoops addition, you should know that almost every internet source points you toward two recommendations: Jack Stack and Joe’s Kansas City BBQ. I intended to hit a third spot, but we had so many leftovers from the first two that we ended up eating a combination of both on the following day.

After eating a heart(attack)y BBQ meal, I then had to find a riverboat casino. Inspired by the current TV show I am watching, Ozark (yea yea, I'm late), I needed to venture into a riverboat casino to see if I could spot the Kansas City mob (relax, TV show reference).

As I pulled up to this so-called riverboat casino, there was a river and there was a casino, but there was no boat. I then went into investigative journalism mode to see if I could find out if I was indeed on a boat. First, I proceeded to ask a casino employee if this was a riverboat casino, and he quickly claimed that he 'had no idea.' Realizing the staff actually didn't know or probably didn't care, I decided to investigate myself and looped around the building to find that the casino was not even on the river, but was actually on what looked like a man-made puddle of water to loophole its way into calling itself a riverboat casino.

Anyway, not wanting to spend too much time on this topic, since I know everyone reading this just really wants to know where to play basketball, feel free to just read the Wikipedia entry or watch Ozark to learn more about riverboat casinos. 

After supplementing drug cartel money laundering schemes through gambling (chill, TV show reference), I decided it was time to finally play pickup basketball. I checked out three places to play, and I'll admit, I did not have high hopes for Kansas City at first, but in the end, it provided me with two truly unique experiences that no city has offered me yet. 

First, as in most cities I visit, I like to check out public outdoor courts to see if I can jump right into a game with locals. I decided that The Concourse Park Basketball Court looked like a good court closest to the downtown area to check out first, but I made the mistake of coming during the hottest time of the day and, sadly, no one was there. Very nice courts, though, and I'm sure it has more people as the day gets cooler. If anyone has ever played here, let me know!

The second and third basketball experiences in Kansas City made this trip completely worth it. 

Did you know that Kansas City has a College Basketball Experience? I would recommend any basketball fanatic carve out about two hours of their time to make their way downtown to the College Basketball Experience. Not only will you get to learn about college basketball history, but it's extremely interactive, allowing you to test out all your skills. While it's not necessarily 'pickup basketball' per se, it'll definitely get you competing against others through a wide variety of skill-based mini-games.

Think you're the best 3-point shooter? Well, settle it on the 3-point contest court. Want to test your free-throw accuracy? Show us how many you can make in 60 seconds. There were even dribbling games like DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), a passing accuracy test, hoops to dunk on, and even the chance to showcase your broadcasting skills play-calling famous college basketball moments (I failed on that one... I'm embarrassed and will not post that). They even had a full-sized 5x5 court plus a 3x3 court. I assumed that if there were enough people, one could run 5s or 3s, but I went on a weekday morning when there weren't many people. Next time I come, I'll check this museum out at a busier time and see if I can catch a game on the big courts.

See if you can beat my scores:

• Passing – 22 passes with 100% accuracy

• Vertical Reach (dunk) – 8 ft

• Free throws – 19 in 60 seconds

• 3-pointers – 6 in 40 seconds

• Arcade hoops – 63 in 45 seconds

Not wanting to end my trip without playing any actual pickup basketball, I found a group called The Pickup Project through my typical online searching and it looked perfect to get a good run in, except for one small detail…this run was at 6:30 AM. I've never signed up for a morning run before and I'll admit, I was skeptical about how many people would actually show up. I didn't want it to be like San Francisco where only seven people showed up, but having no other option, I decided to sign up and see what this morning basketball was all about.

Similar to a lunar eclipse, I begrudgingly woke up while the sun was still nowhere to be found and made my way to the gym. I thought I was early, but to my surprise, there were already 20+ people there warming up and ready to go. I quickly got changed, and before I knew it, the host kicked things off by introducing himself, and then we lined up in a giant circle where we introduced ourselves by name and occupation. I guess this all of a sudden became a pseudo-networking event where you befriend others through basketball. 

After quick introductions, we split into three courts and games began. Teams are made by the first five shooting free throws and games are 15 minutes long. If I were to make a change, I would alternate free throws so we don’t lean shooters and non-shooters on the same teams. But again, it’s always interesting to see how different cities make teams to start, like by height in Tokyo, black/white in Hong Kong, or a 3-point shot for captains to pick teams in Las Vegas. They even provide jerseys for everyone so you know who's on whose team. Games are 1s and 2s and go to whoever reaches 11 first or has the highest score after 15 minutes. For my most avid readers, you'll know what I'm going to say next... with three full indoor basketball courts with lines and everything, it bothers me that we don't run 2s and 3s. If you win, your five moves onto the next court, and if you lose, you move down a court. When the next games start, you shoot for new teams so you'll never be on the same team.

Games are fast-paced and the host gets things moving quickly. They'll get four games done in the hour. Like Singapore, Tokyo, or any other paid indoor pickup basketball experiences, the best runs always have the best 'managers,' and this run is up there as one of the better-managed paid runs. I caught up with the founder after my runs and he was a pretty cool, down-to-earth guy. I specifically asked him why he chose 6am runs rather than later in the day, and he said something along the lines of the people you get at 6am being those who are committed to play and have a passion for basketball, which makes the runs more fun (totally butchering it as he said it way more eloquently). Thinking back, I guess that is true; anybody can show up for a 6pm run, but it's those truly passionate folks who will show up for a 6a run. Kudos to him. He talked about how he's expanded to other cities (including Dallas which now I must check out) and is looking to move into more. If you're looking to franchise or want to start one of these runs in your city, definitely reach out to The Pickup Project, and I'm sure he'll get you more info! 

Conclusion 

Kansas City gave me two memorable basketball experiences with the College Basketball Experience and The Pickup Project 6am run. If you are visiting the city and have some free time, I definitely recommend checking out the museum to test your skills (against mine), and then if you are serious, sign up for a morning run to test your pickup skills against real locals. Just make sure you refuel with some BBQ after all your runs!

Kansas City Travel Tip

Kansas City has a new KC Streetcar that goes up and down the main parts of downtown Kansas City. If you don’t have a car, just make your way onto the KC Streetcar and you’ll get pretty much anywhere you want. It hits all the big destinations from City Market to the College Basketball Experience, museums, BBQ, and everything in between. Just hop on and hop off. It’s completely free!