“So who is not?” - the team’s press attaché addressed the head of Khimki Igor Torubarov, as if under interrogation.
A club employee frantically studied the lists:
- There are no unhappy. Berezovsky. Three more ...
“Where does he wear them ?!” - cried out the press attaché and ran off in search.
Half an hour was left before the award ceremony. And it was not clear why everyone was panicking. Apparently, from an excess of desire to make the holiday perfect. Or maybe they just needed autographs on souvenir balls for the audience. All the players, by the way, were in place by the start of the celebration.
Fans filled the Khimki basketball palace very slowly. The policemen were happy to inspect them, asking if they were carrying firecrackers. Of course, no one admitted this. However, there really was no pyrotechnics.
In the lobby they sold souvenirs, for some reason a basketball club. But it was even more surprising that a small queue was lined up for t-shirts. But the buffets were not popular. You won’t save a pie for 40 rubles as a keepsake.
The hall was simply decorated. Chairs for the team placed in the center of the basketball court. Spectators took seats in the stands. VIP guests were accommodated in a special box. One of the fans argued to the organizers that the poster “We've been waiting for this for 10 years” should be stretched out on the balcony. He obeyed. And they also posted a banner with verses: “You can even see from the warm-up how strong the Khimki team is.
The club’s general director, Mikhail Scheglov, was looking into the distance. And refused to answer questions:
- Such a madhouse today! Let's talk next time, ”he asked reporters. Insisting was pointless.
To make the event as resonant as possible, they wrote out Moscow sports commentator Dmitry Guberniev, who was recommended as a "fellow countryman." But the acoustics were so terrible that no one heard the roulade entertainer. And when he began to speak long, he was immediately shortened by fans, charging: "Khimki is a champion!"
The holiday was very modest and lasted a little over an hour. First, pupils of the Youth Sports School ran out to the site, unfurled the team’s flag. The man, dressed up as a ball, carefully rotated around an axis. And this process carried away only a riddle, whether his head would spin. The man remained on his feet, although a thorough storm a couple of times.
Then there were speeches. The Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov presented the best gift to the team. He promised that the Novator stadium will host the Premier League matches next season. Although earlier it was planned to be commissioned in 2008.
Audience Award was received by defender Dmitry Parfyonov. And sponsors recognized Andrei Tikhonov as a "gentleman".
“I would not have achieved anything without the guys from the team and the coach,” he remarked politically correct in his response.
A video clip was displayed on the screen. Initially, they planned to remind the audience all the way to the class of the strongest. But then, apparently, they realized that a series of penalty kicks into the wrong gates to the public would be pretty boring. Limited to fragments of the match, “Khimki” - “Kuban”.
Everything ended with a cultural program. It was opened by girls who danced with long wooden poles (but as some thought). They were replaced by young people. They also used long pieces of wood in dancing. This could not end in good. And for sure: in one of the rooms the dancer hit the neighbor's face with a club, and blood spilled on the oilcloth (she carefully covered the parquet).
Finally, they performed three songs about their favorite city. Should have sounded and the fourth. But the technician lost the phonogram. However, no one noticed the loss, except for the crying artist ...
Alexey Shevchenko