If good fences make good neighbors, so too do new basketball hoops

When we moved into Credo, we acquired an in-ground basketball hoop.  Just the hoop, really; the acrylic backboard was gone, leaving just a hoop and its steel frame, and a pole embedded in concrete.  And being the avid basketball players we are  given our great height and athletic ability it literally has only impacted our lives when we told our RV-dwelling friend that she could park in our driveway and then we discovered that RVs are taller than hoops.

But it's been on the list since we moved in as a reasonably easy fix to just throw up some plexiglass, or even just tack some plywood up there so it was useable instead of useless.  And we've actually had it in mind to host youth events since reading the previous owners' letter to prospective buyers; that was something they did, and something that resonated with us.  We have hosted movie nights, and "no school now what?" days, and most recently, a youth group game night that devolved wonderfully into roasting marshmallows and tossing a football in the backyard.  And tossing a basketball thru the backboard rather than thru the hoop.

We also looked at just taking it out; we certainly wouldn't miss it.  And our RV friend wouldn't either.  And every time we back out of the garage, we wouldn't have to think about how to miss it.  But the internet was humorously unhelpful, particularly this forum which variously suggested 1) dynamite, 2) a "please don't steal me" sign, and 3) saltwater and a case of beer while you watch it rust.  Bonus, ours had a head start on rust.

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Before:

 

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Disassembly of just the parts needing replaced¹:

1 That is proper Penn Dutch grammar. There is no "to be" in Penn Dutch.

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Then, although the entire rig is meant to be assembled on the ground and then hoisted aloft and installed on the pole, we had a good bit already installed from the previous backboard that we did not bring down.  We also are fortunate to have good neighbors.

Today's QOTD:

Next door neighbor C: So the springs go on there...
me (interrupting): What are the springs for?
C: It's for when you dunk.
Big Frog (directly to me): Yes, for when YOU dunk...!

<later>
C (tightening bolts): How tight should these go?
me (consulting instruction sheet): It says to desired tension.  So basically, season to taste.
C (directly to me): So when you DUNK...

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Taaaaah daaaaaaaah!

I will have you know that I pulled out the basketball right away, stood at the foul line, and made a basket on my very first attempt.  Big Frog will vouch for me, and not just because he's obliged to in the marriage vows².  But of course it's not on video because it is basically unprecedented, and there was absolutely no reason to believe this shot would be a success.

2 We did make oddly specific promises at our wedding, but somehow basketball never did enter into it. Until now?

Got a lot of practice to put in.  Free shots, of course, and also dunking.