Yesterday, Spencer Porter wrote about sports at a small high school and the opportunity they gave for an ordinary person to shine. While I intend to remain fully clothed throughout this column, I do want to continue in a similar vein.

I’m going to tackle a topic I’ve avoided for a long time — pick-up games.

For those of us who aren’t in the 99th percentile athletically, it is our only recourse — grab the rock, call your buds and hit whatever passable but generally run-down public facility is available for those people who play the games that no one watches.

I think most people will agree that the most frustrating part about being a “recreational player” (a term I’m sure we all hate) is having to wait or travel long distances to get your game on.

Where I’m from (suburban Chicago), there are so many tennis courts you’d think the park districts were expecting the ATP tour to show up unannounced.

But basketball courts? Few and far between — and you better have a car, because it’s going to take a while to get there.

Stanford University has over 13,000 students and a grand total of two basketball courts that are open at night. It’s a little better during the daytime, but unless you want to shoot around on a screwed-up basket, chances are you’re going to be waiting 45 minutes for your turn at the Schwab courts.

I think conditions like these — while certainly not unique to Stanford — prevent people from being as athletic as they would like to be. I don’t even know how many times I’ve wanted to play ball but didn’t do so at the time because I didn’t want to endure a long wait just to get in a game or two.

When I do play, I often go right when the gym opens, play until my squad loses and then head home because I don’t want to wait half an hour to play again. Or, I play at off-peak hours (weekend nights or early weekday afternoons) when I know there won’t be too many people around. It’s a depressing state of affairs.

I think it is an absolute shame that so many people who were dedicated and practiced athletes as kids and adolescents end up sitting on their couches as adults, watching it all on TV. Maybe they go jogging now and then, or coach their kid’s soccer team or they play golf.

But where is it written that the people who obsessively watch eight hours of NFL football every Sunday can’t play football themselves? More people need to decide that it’s OK to keep playing as an adult. Sports shouldn’t be consigned to the young or the exceptionally talented. Yes, it sometimes takes a lot of effort to find a court or a league, but it’s worth the time.

Too often, sports leagues are treated like they are only around to provide a training ground for present or future collegiate and professional athletes. I could play all the sports I wanted 10 years ago, because back then everyone has a chance to be great, and everyone is encouraged to give it a try. But by the time high school begins, the weeding process is in full swing, and you are no longer asked, “Do you want to play?” but rather “Are you good enough to compete at the next level?”

Sure, I still fantasize about playing pro sports. Yeah, the fame, money and groupies would be nice. But when I dream about being a professional athlete, the one and only thing I ever think about is what I would be doing on the field of play.

People watch sports in large part because they wish they were the ones out there playing the game they love.

Well, you know what? They can, in fact, play the game they love.

They can be the old grayhair playing pick-up games, the oldtimer who’s seen better days but is still out there putting up a fight simply because he loves doing it.

So the next time you feel like playing a sport, go play it. Take that step. And if you’re lucky, you won’t have to drive for half an hour and sneak onto the grounds of a juvenile detention facility to find a lighted court.

Mark Thoma is a sophomore majoring in history who wants to know where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever gone in search of a court. Share your exploits with him at mdthoma@stanford.edu.