"Family" (DREAMGIRLS)

So let me look at the social network that seemed to be developing on that backcourt. Seems that everybody there had some sort of story that lead them to volleyball and our little group. We were mostly transplants, living in the city because of a job or new challenges, and our home and/or family were distant. Everybody was so supportive and friendly and that spilled over into an email list that was started by Peter Sell. Those emails contained game recaps, announcements, party invites, and comments. The group had turned into something special very similar to my theatre group--they had become my support.

About a year before I had read a book that described my theatre group and the same results were happening with the volleyball group. The book was by Ethan Watters called Urban Tribes: A generation redefines friendship, family, and commitment (Bloomsbury 2003). In the book Watters describes the urban tribe as "an intricate community of young people who live and work together in various combinations, form regular rituals, and provide the same kind of support as an extended family."


Here we were taking part in a social trend in our generation where the commonality of our group has always been volleyball. Below are a few excerpts from the book regarding my perspective as to how we fit into this social trend:
"Not long ago, the course of one's life would, in all likelihood, be an expression of one's class and group membership. How exciting that we had the freedom to shape our lives to be an expression of personal character" (9).
"We were a curious new breed, those of us treading water in the cities--outside of our families of origin and seemingly unwilling to begin famlies for ourselves. We were interested in (often devoted to) our careers and avocations, but we stayed strangely off the social map in other ways. Devotion to blood ties didn't seem to interest us enough to stay in our hometowns, and the idea of finding community among our neighbors was a quaint anachronism" (19).
"Gossip was more efficient in another way. When three or four members of a social group get together and share information about other group members' personal relationships, they are passing along important information that allows us to know other members of the group better. Without the information transmitted through gossip our group size would likely be limited, because each group member would have to spend more time personally observing the behavior of every other group member" (67).

That backcourt was limited to 24 players, all smiling faces and infectious laughter, but we would leave over the next few months and years, and the encounters would be few and far between (chances to play volleyball had been difficult after Brandeis closes for the summer), but that support would always be there. I continued going to Brandeis regularly over the next few years, but the people from that backcourt group moved on. Still I count some of those people as the best there is, amazing beyond words and special in my heart. The term "urban tribe" still applies to my life. It's just that the faces have changed and for that I'm truly grateful.

SCORECARD
Brandeis Open Play