After enjoying a much needed break from basketball and getting some quality family time over the holidays it was time for me to get back to work. My agents had a couple of options lined up but nothing of real sustenance.
The European market was a little bit strange this year because the economics of many countries is not in the best shape. Basically countries/teams are broke and do not want to spend much money on foreign players. This led to many very high-level guys staying in the states and playing in the NBA D-League, which I was hoping to be my backup plan if/when Slovenia did not work out. But there was no roster spots available for me so I was once again doing the whole waiting game. Luckily I only had to wait a couple of weeks as both Sam and Keith found me a job in an unlikely place, the Nation of Malta.
I actually knew where Malta was on a map thanks to a great documentary on PBS that I watched a couple of years ago but I had very little knowledge of what this tiny island in the Mediterranean would be like to live on. After a couple of hours of research and some information from my agents I realized I was going to a very beautiful place that would prove to be a much easier life transition then my previous job.
Malta is a tourist destination that was once controlled by the British which means everyone speaks English (HOORAY!!!!). If you type Malta into Google you get a ton of pictures that show nothing but sunshine, beautiful countryside/seaside and harbors filled with yachts. This little island is a hot spot for Europeans to come visit during the summer months and is filled with history.
My agents had no idea what the basketball would be like but the way it was sold to me was I was going on a five-month paid vacation, and for the past two months that is exactly how I would describe my time.
I received my contract on New Year's Day and received my ticket to fly to my new team/home on Jan. 8. I was so fortunate to get to spend Christmas with my family, but I was getting anxious to get back to work. This was my third time packing to head across the big ocean blue and each time it has gotten easier and my bags have gotten much lighter. I was excited to get yet another opportunity to continue playing the game I love for a job as well as experience another country on someone else's expense.
My mother drove me to the airport and this time she held up pretty well and did not shed a single tear the entire ride, she did not even accompany me in to see me off. We pulled up, I shed my heavy winter coat, gave my mother a kiss goodbye and started on another 19-hour travel day to my new home.
My next blog I will talk about how I passed the time during my long travel days as well as my first three days on the island.
(Note:You can find the archive of Mike Bruesewitz's Imported Bru stories and photo galleries here.)
