The Tourney...

Hey yo Valley!! before I get to the main reason for the post tonight, let me say that Valparaiso Florida represented last weekend and your boy certainly did his part. Big shot to the whole crew, I love seeing you guys and I had a blast. There's nothing so nice as drinking all day in your trunks and chilling with good people, I know you all feel me...

Now let me get into the main reason for this post and one of the most important posts in this blog's history. So, listen up.

The Knopp Valley Tournament

I. Origins
15 Years ago, on a starry night like tonight, a group of teenagers, led by Erik Ferden and Ryan Peterson, birthed an idea for the ages. We loved basketball and most of my friends and I played often for fun outside of school or organized team stuff. We often gathered to play at a court we call "Knopp, pronounced "Nop". It is an outdoor court in a park located in a housing development called Knopp Valley, in Winona, MN. It's a beautiful scene, laid perfectly in the base of one of Winona's gorgeous bluff valleys. A few individuals involved grew up in Knopp Valley, and so games have just always been played there. It was here that a 4 on 4 tournament was born consisting of childhood and school friends. The date: July 4, 1995. Our Nation's and our tournament's birthday. Not one week after the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted Kevin Garnett, and during the same month that "Clueless" and that crappy Costner movie "Waterworld" were released, and just a few short months after the Cincinnati Bengals drafted the great Ki-Jana Carter with the #1 overall pick...The Knopp Valley Tournament was born. The Tourney started out small with just 4 teams, but unlike KG, Ki-Jana Carter, or Waterworld, The Tourney stuck around, and we all thank the heavens for the grace shone upon us over the years. Not one tourney has been rained out, very few injuries have occurred and usually only minor, and great friendships and traditions have grown over the years.

II.Traditions and Format
There are captains of the 7 teams each year, and they perform a draft. The draft used to be done with everyone together but life has forced people all over and now is done via technology for the most part. There have been several captains over the years. Many remain constant but there is some shifting. The draft is done like most every one's fantasy sports drafts, in a "snake" format. Since its inception, the draft order has been kept confidential, only the captains know where people were drafted.

Somewhere during this stretch of 1.5 decades a golf tournament got started. Whoever wants to play or can make it get together and hit the links. Then the entire group, or almost all, meet at a local restaurant, recently it has been Ed Sullivan's in Trempeleau, WI. There we gather from all over the country: Arizona, Wisconsin, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, and in recent years Illinois or Florida. There we give daps, hugs, and plenty of mean mugs to our teammates, our opponents, and our family...

Gameday starts at 8am...well, kinda. We hope that people show up by then so we can get started. We all throw in our money, and we take a look at the tournament bracket. A bracket that is beautifully crafted by a local YMCA employee, supporter, and friend of The Tourney, Daryl Anderson. It is a round robin format for the first round so each team plays 6 games. Then we rest for a bit and begin the seeded, double elimination tournament. The Tournament lasts all day long, and is usually done by around 5-6 o'clock. And as someone who has come up from the losers bracket and played the most games possible, it is one hell of a tough day. One thing that makes it easier on everybody is the tradition of playing loud hip hop music all day long. The good stuff too, not this Flo-rida crap, no Souldia Boy (or however you spell that nonsense), We're talking the good stuff...Outkast, Biggie, Jay-Z, Tupac, E-40, Spice 1, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, Lil Wayne, EPMD, Beastie Boys....wow soory, I just feel like going on forever. But it is great that this tradition has never stopped and I hope it won't because the music is part of what makes this day ours

After The Tourney is the "Afterparty". We have gathered at different places for food and drinks over the years and this is usually the beginning of a fantastic night and the right way to end a great day and tradition...laughing and enjoying family members.

III. The People
We are all competitive individuals, some extraordinarily so. Our family is made up of high school all-conference and all-state athletes, college all-conference and all-american athletes, and avid hoopers who love to play and have been around The Tournament since forever. Many of us are 30 years old and over, but most are still in their 20's. There is one player who was 7 years old when this tournament started. The Knopp Vally Family is diverse as any group of 35-40 people, but we are close in that we all hold something dear to us, and respect each individual immensely for their contributions to this great tradition. The crowd has grown from about 0, to now more than 50 people regularly stop by, and probably many more. Lot's of parents, girlfriends, friends, and basketball fans, spend the day in the sun watching great basketball. I'm sure lots of the parents aren't happy about all the swear words over the years, so let me take this opportunity to apologize for my part in that...but hey, it's The Tourney!!

From the bottom of my heart, and I'm sure many echo this, I wouldn't be in Winona for the 4th of July if it wasn't for this tournament. Seeing these guys, makes it one of the most fun weekends of the year. I wouldn't trade it, I wouldn't change it, and I wouldn't want it to include anyone other than all the people who have participated and made this day and event so great over these 15 years. And for my Knopp Valley Family, be ready to get it on in a couple days, because I'm coming for every one of you!!! Love you guys, see you soon....

Out like Koehler...RIP homey
McQuillan.