Gaga is a combination of handball, dodgeball, steel cage death match and Survivor. A group of kids go into a pit and only one comes out alive.
I watched Zion play the game for the last two or three years. It seems to feature a lot of running and jumping. The kids have as much fun as they would have at a Lady Gaga concert. Yet, I never stop to understand the rules. I knew it was similar to dodgeball. If you get hit with the ball, you are out. However, sometimes kids got hit with the ball and did not leave the steel cage, er, gaga pit. Were they telling a friendly white lie and saying they did not get hit or was it like old school playground basketball “no blood, no foul?”
Yesterday, I learned you are eliminated if the ball hits you below the waist. If the ball hits you in arms, torso or, heaven forbid, the face, you are still in the game. I still prefer my “no blood, no foul” version of gaga, but I will watch the game with a greater appreciation going forward.
In hindsight, Zion has stayed in gaga games when he got hit below the waist, usually a graze or a bounce off the wall while his back is turned. Should I admire his competitive spirit or wonder what other little white lies he is telling? Just another day in parenthood.