When David Bascome celebrated his 38th birthday on Tuesday, his Blast teammates teased him with the normal “old man” jokes.
A year ago ? after the midfielder/assistant coach tore his anterior cruciate ligament ? the Blast were anything but laughing around Bascome.
From the whispers he heard in the training room when the verdict came down from the team?s medical staff, Bascome knew his career was in doubt.
“I could see guys shaking their heads saying, ?That?s it. Its over.? I think that kind of sparked me even more,” Bascome said. “I didn?t want that to be my last impression [on] the game. Then you really feel old.”
Bascome, who had surgery Dec. 14, 2006, was back on the floor for the team?s final week of play in late March.
“We?re still taking about it, even now. I?m thinking he has to be on something,” forward Machel Millwood said with a smile. “I keep looking around for it, but I can?t find it. It was great. He came back in four months. I?ve never seen that before. It was great motivation for the team, him coming back and giving it his all.”
The Blast, who finished 15-15, failed to make the playoffs. So Bascome decided to give it another shot this year ? his 17th in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
He looks back on last year?s comeback as “work” but also with a good sense of humor.
“What I?m realizing now ? something definitely has to be wrong with me,” Bascome said. “I was 37 at the time, and I?m like, what am I doing? It?s a driven love and passion for this game. I was just trying to stay focused mentally.”
Bascome has 1,048 points ? 12th all-time in the league ? entering two home games this weekend, which would give him 461 career games played.
“Some might consider him old for this game,” said Blast coach Danny Kelly, who played in the MISL for 14 seasons. “But if you watch him play, he appears to be a much younger player. He gets up and down the floor, and right now he?s scoring big goals for us, getting in the box and leading by example. That?s something we really need.”
Bascome is tied for third on the team with 21 points, scoring nine, two-point goals with three assists. He won?t say whether he?ll be playing at age 40, but Bascome has no intention of leaving the game soon.
“I think, if we have young players coming in for my spot, that?s it,” Bascome said. “That?s my time. We?ll see. I?m just enjoying it right now.”
