#7: 168-198 Summarize the outcome of the game. Why does Junior cry at the end? What does he realize? -Emma H

Junior and his team beat Wellpinit High School by 40 points, but to Junior the defeat of Wellpinit represented the hopelessness of his own tribe. "Maybe my white teammates had problems, serious problems, but none of their problems was life threatening"(Alexie 195). After the win, Junior realized that the kids on his team had money. They had food, they could afford whatever they wanted. The kids on the Wellpinit team probably didn't have a breakfast that morning, or had serious issues within their family, not to mention that they are constantly pushed down by the white people. The fact that there is no hope in their future is constantly shoved in there faces by the little things that ruin their life everyday. The only thing that Junior's tribe could live for was the basketball team. For a while, Wellpinit was the the best team in the state. Basketball gave people like Rowdy hope. Basketball gave the Wellpinit students a chance. Junior crushed that chance. Now he resents himself for it.