6. Most Valuable Protagonist (MVP)

FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Cologne

Slovenia’s Luka Doncic. Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki. Lithuania’s Tomas Balaisis.

Three gentlemen who have made a name for themselves in the world of basketball. Three gentlemen that I more or less met at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 in Cologne. One sport. Two weeks. Three stories.

Luka Doncic/El Matador/Luka Magic

A Slovenian professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. Point Guard. One of the most popular players at the European Championship. Fans crowded the entrance of the hotel to get a glimpse of the 6’7″ NBA player. As the team guide for Bosnia’s national basketball team, I was staying at the team hotel, which meant I saw him almost every day in the hotel, in the dining room, or on the court.

Dirk Nowitzki/Dirty/Seven Foot Schnitzel

A retired German professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. Power Forward. One of the greatest European players to ever grace the basketball court. His jersey retirement ceremony at the LANXESS arena was attended by thousands of fans. No. 41 | Dirk Nowitzki | 1998-2019. And right in the midst of it all was little ol’ me, watching the ceremony from the sidelines.

Although I was surrounded by all these stars of the basketball world, there was one man who outshone them all.

Tomas Balaisis/Sekla/Bearded Fan

A Lithuanian organizer for the country’s crazy basketball fan section. Sports enthusiast. One of the best-known supporters of Lithuania’s most popular and successful team sport. Witnessing the power of Lithuanians cheering on their team was truly a sight to behold. Fans turned the 19,500-seat arena into a sea of yellow, green, and red. Before the start of each game, spectators would set themselves up in the section of seats along the baseline. Drums. Face paint. Hats. They had it all. Deafening chants of “Lietuva!” shook the floor as they pumped their fists and sang the national anthem as part of the pre-game festivities. At every timeout, a huge Lithuanian flag draped over the entire section, swaying to the rhythm of the four drums set up in the centre.

If this were a film, he would be the film director. If this were an orchestra, he would be the conductor. Tomas ‘Sekla’ Balaisis is the man who sets the pace. A driving force in the team’s fan section, he hasn’t missed a game since 2003. You can’t go to a game without seeing the man with the distinctive long beard playing one of the drums during the games, using hand gestures to indicate the rhythm of the giant flag.

The leading role in a film doesn’t always have to go to the Luka Doncic’s and Dirk Nowitzki’s of this world. Sometimes the protagonist of a story can be a passionate man with a distinctive beard from Lithuania.