Hoosier Hysteria Road Book : A Guide to the Byways of Indiana High School Basketball

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Summary: For lovers of basketball, Indiana, and life in general.
Review: Indiana holds a well-earned reputation as a basketball-loving state. And not surprisingly, many a book has been penned about "Hoosier Hysteria," the state's longtime love affair with its high school cage teams.

One might assume that this 343-page title would fit neatly into that genre. Indeed, there is much here to please the diehard Indiana sports fan. Virtually every school in the state is referenced by its enrollment, its team name, the age of its gymnasium, its noted alumni, and its crosstown arch-nemeses.

Yet the Hoosier Hysteria Road Book covers far more ground -- succeeding not only as a sports publication, but as an Indiana travel guide, a history book, and a humorously incisive work of sociology.

For some years, author Dale Lawrence has been the chief singer and songwriter of the Vulgar Boatmen, a critically-acclaimed rock band. As something of a sports outsider, he brings a unique perspective to the world he explores. He also offers prose that is observant, intelligent, and often borders on the lyrical.

On the dimmed lighting and atmosphere of a recently retired gym in Zionsville: "The game was played in a smoky haze, how I've always imagined watching a prizefight used to be. It was like having a dream about a basketball game."

On the horn in Columbus North's gym: "It's in stereo: two simultaneous but separate noises emanating from opposite corners. One is a sputtering BZZZ, like a novelty hand buzzer or an alarm clock on its last legs. The other sound is a sustained TOOOT, like a cartoon tugboat whistle. You can hardly believe it hasn't been replaced ages ago, and no doubt some misguided soul will someday do just that."

On Logansport's school mascot, ostensibly Felix the Cat: "The current live mascot is a rather paunchy incarnation of the famous cartoon character, which you probably wouldn't immediately recognize as Felix (or even a cat). With its mouth permanently screwed open to one side, it most closely resembles a bear doing an imitation of Buddy Hackett."

Reasoning that no game is complete without dinner afterwards at a local restaurant, Lawrence also devotes a fair portion of his book to recommending funky local eateries across the state. In fact, he seems willing and eager to review virtually any tidbit that wanders across his path. An ancient Presbyterian church in Williamsport. School pep bands. The lyrics of school fight songs. The crowds. The gyms. The popcorn at the gyms' snack bars. Public address systems. Game announcers. Call-in radio shows heard on the way to and from particularly distant destinations. All are dutifully considered with a mix of reverence and affectionate amusement -- a tone that steers thankfully clear of condescension and irony.

Lawrence has an evident and heartfelt love of Indiana basketball, and a passion for all things unique. In a world where the individual is being overtaken by the corporate, where chain stores are homogenizing the national landscape, where distinctions between peoples and places are fast disappearing, the Hoosier Hysteria Road Book is an homage to the singular and eccentric -- an invaluable celebration of those small, oft-overlooked differences that make our lives worth living.