As you walk into the Lied Recreation Athletic Center for the first time there are a lot of things to take in. You see the climbing wall and the workers behind the desk, and then you see the enormous gym.

Court No. 1 is reserved for the premier games. Every night the best come to play on court No. 1. Game after game, the intensity heightens, the fouls get harder and the trash talk picks up.

During one particular game, someone hit the game-winning 3-pointer, but a player from the opposing team called it a two because the shooter’s foot was on the line. Everyone started arguing, and eventually they all decided to resolve the problem by re-doing the possession. The same guy took the ball and landed an unmistakable 3-pointer to win the game.

Even with the altercation, the trash talking was over when the game was over. As with your brother or sister, no matter how much you may fight with them, you always make up afterward — just like what happens during these games.

“All of this is in our competitive nature,” said James Baldwin, freshman in pre-architecture. “We may not be playing D2 or D3 basketball, but that competitiveness goes with us every day, even in the classroom.”

Baldwin came all the way from Philadelphia to go to Iowa State. Just like every other student here, he deals with stress from school, and Lied is one of the places where he can come to play out his stress.

“Basketball at the Rec is for everyone who still have those hoop dreams,” said Eric Bates, freshman in kinesiology. “They’re still focused on school, but this is the place to relieve stress and have fun.”

Bates is from Compton, Calif. He went to a school with about 500 kids per class, so Ames is a big transition for him.

“Coming to Ames has been a huge adaptation,” Bates said. “Everyone here is a lot nicer and friendlier.”

Bates and Baldwin both make their home on court No. 1, but they both know the Rec. Center is here for everyone.

Bates said the game style is totally different than in Compton, but the intensity is just as high. They play hard and go at each other’s throats, but in the end they’re really just a group of brothers who love to play basketball.

“All of the guys here are tight,” Baldwin said. “We’re really all like brothers. Basketball brings everyone together here. All of us are different, you know, but it still brings us together.”

Bates and Baldwin are both extremely athletic guys who have been playing basketball for a long time. They come to Lied almost every day they can. The Rec is a second home to these guys, and it’s very easy to tell that these guys aren’t just friends who play basketball against each other, it’s really a brotherhood. These guys aren’t the only ones who come to play at the Lied, though.

One interesting person who comes to the Lied more than almost anyone is 69-year-old Stan Crull. Crull has been coming to the Rec. Center every day that he has been able to since 1973. His wife was a professor at Iowa State, and now they’re both retired.

“Well, when I started playing here we shot granny-style free throws and had short shorts,” Crull said. “Now when I come to play here, these young men are so fast and so athletic, I can hardly keep up watching them.”

Although Crull can’t keep up with the guys on court No. 1, he still gets a game going anywhere else in the gym. He usually grabs anyone who is standing around and gets them to join the game.

“I love all the kids here,” Crull said. “Even though I can’t play on court [No. 1], I love to get all the kids involved. Especially the ones that don’t play on court [No. 1]. Those are the kids I like on my team.”

Crull said lately competitiveness is the highest he has ever seen. He knows that playing at the Rec. is extremely intense, but he prefers to focus on the joy of playing basketball and the fun that he has playing with people of all ages.

“I definitely bring the average age up,” Crull said, laughing, “but I still love to play with whoever can play. The Lied isn’t just a place for those big guys on court [No. 1]; it’s also a place for people who just want to have fun, like me.”

At the Rec. there are players of all ages and skill sets. There are people who just shoot around, people who play lackadaisically with friends, loners who are just looking for a game, and even the brotherhood of court No. 1.

But no matter what type of player you are, it’s obvious that the Rec is a place for everyone.