Vancouver Metro Basketball League

Pre-Game Ritual

Picking Mike’s brain for this profile was a riot – seriously, I don’t know if his humour ever makes its way into trash talk on the court, but consider yourself forewarned.   If it does, you can always get back at him by disrupting his very scientific approach to game prep: “ Pre-game is possibly the most important part of the Vancouver Metro League.  I get there 17 minutes before the game time.  Not 16. Not 18.  I punch it out with my teammates in a very precise order. Then I change.  Remove toque, then jogging pants, then sweater.  Any other sequence spells sure disaster.”

Rewinding a bit, Mike developed an early love for the game and was hooked the first day he nailed consecutive long bombs on his older brother and his pals. Mike continued to learn the game from veteran Fulton coach Bob Shannon and vividly recalls Gonzaga summer camps where he learned a crucial lesson from Dan Monson: “Put the brown thang in the round thang”.  Oh and just for the record . . . the team with the most points at the end of the game wins.  You are welcome.

Mike brings his love of the game into his career, pouring his admiration of MJ into developing marketing campaigns for Nike and the Jordan brand.  Is there really anyone who doesn’t “want to be like Mike”??  Smit is now venturing further into the digital media world and has a real passion for the compelling stories and experiences within sport – like his studio’s recent work on a new TV series, “Carmelo’s Way”, which documents Carmelo Anthony’s off-season life (only available in the US right now).  Obviously keeping a busy schedule, Mike finds himself  ”trying to juggle work, travel, home and athletics all the while, slowing down the effects of getting repeatedly smacked in the face by Father Time.” 

So how does he keep going?  Mike finds his inspiration in the words of Warren Sapp: “Every morning in Africa the lion wakes up knowing he has to outrun the swiftest gazelle or he will starve to death.  Every morning the gazelle wakes up knowing he must outrun the swiftest lion or he will perish.  Moral of the story . . . the sun comes up, your ass better be running.” 

Quick & Dirty with Mike Smit