Michael Bramos, the man, the relic, the captain and farewell to Reyer

Certain myths are formed sitting around the fire. Others coming out of the blocks, beyond the 6 and 75 line. But in history as in sport, they are so dense that it is unbearable to let them go to the sands of time. This is how relics are born. What remains. Michael Bramos he discovered it in spite of himself in a sultry post-match in June 2017. He had just made the basket – tricolor omen, from here on out The shot – which sublimated the small forward into a legend of the Reyer Venice. Three thousand or so ecstatic palasport souls, the Greek-American as a totem in the center of the parquet. “Hugs, screams, sweaty bodies reaching towards me. Even kisses on the head. But above all hands: so many that I couldn’t see, they touched and caressed me”. Anything, just to keep a piece of it. There is faith and there is science. “The next day I fell ill. High fever: in Trento, for match 6, I took to the field on anti-inflammatories and grit my teeth. The Scudetto arrived anyway”. There is science and there is faith. “At the time I didn’t realize what we had done.” The idolatry of the fans was served. On the other hand, Bramos at 36 willingly spares himself that of himself. “I don’t want to become a living relic, relegated to the bottom of the bench. For this I choose to stop today. In my own way: while I was still guaranteeing quality minutes”.

And here is the Speravo de morte prima in the lagoon version. For him to make the world fall – big water, pandemic: we were close – the Venice of basketball has always been able to count on its number 6 who takes aim and shoots. After eight years, there are more triples by Bramos than bridges on canals: 494 to 436. He is Reyer’s record holder for total appearances (389), points (501) and minutes in the playoffs (1,448). And above all, he led the Orogranatas to four titles, when the only ones in the club’s history dated back to the war. It’s easy to feel lost now, while Reyer releases a half-hour tribute video that would make even the masegni of Piazza San Marco cry. “This is also why”, says Michael, “I waited as long as possible, after the season, to say stop. But I had already made up my mind 95 percent last summer: my body and my family gave me the confirmation”. A few ailments too many, the birth of her daughter in April. “And the two boys start playing sports: they need a dad who can go to their games”.

Note the sidereal distance between what the sample represents and what man is. Bramos smiles serenely from his home in Kentucky. He’s back to stay. “I’m happy, no second thoughts. I’m taking a gap year to catch up on the home routine I’ve been missing: maybe I’ll coach my kids’ school teams. Nothing more, though”. The future can wait. The past can always be cleaned up. “What do I see behind me? A grateful player. When I arrived in Venice in 2015, I didn’t know much about Reyer or the city: I was just anxious to start over. And repay the only reality that was offering me a chance”. Until a few months before there were Panathinaikos, the Greek national team, the perfume of the NBA. Then the long injury that changed everything. “The rest was done by what I found in the historic center and at the Taliercio”.

Live to believe. “An atmosphere never seen before,” explains the former captain. “From the head coach to the least of the warehouse workers, here the culture of work is completed with lasting friendships”. Scattered memories. “The ice cubes that Vidmar threw at us in the shower. But also the travels, the many deep conversations. And the passages of Julyan Stone: one glance was enough for him to know that I would have scored”. Talking about comrades and adversaries, Bramos gets a little embarrassed. “I don’t want to forget anyone.” Let’s move on to the games, then.

And we come to another Bramos masterpiece. If the triple in the face of Trento was suddenly heaven, match 7 against Sassari was the apotheosis, “the culmination of a long and conscious journey. We were ready to get our hands on that match. And when there is trust, many things can happen”. Like 11 personal points in two minutes. Playstation stuff. “But I’m human too,” Iron Mike points out. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have let myself get carried away by emotion”, even if it were a technical foul against: a trifle, compared to the context and a career as a gentleman. “What did I say to the opposing bench? Something like game over. It was an uncontrolled release of adrenaline. A two second error. I want to reiterate my apologies to Sassari ”.

Basketball will miss a character like Bramos. However, the opposite is only half true. “A few days ago I was re-reading a sentence by Jokic: ‘It’s a job I can do, but it’s not my life’. He made me smile because I find myself in it ”. And if the technical analogy doesn’t exist, think of attitude. Reyer’s flag as the ruler of the NBA: humble, no social networks, annoyance for the spotlight, a jealously guarded parallel world. Michael doesn’t have horses, “but children, golf, swimming in the sea and some reading. Basketball fits in balance with the rest”. It is from the absence of pressure that the reputation – “and I care about this” – as a clutch player flourishes. “I try to make it clear to the new generations: I’m not afraid of making mistakes in the match because I prepared myself in training. As long as I feel like I’ve given my all, I can go to bed peacefully. And this goes beyond sport”. Bramos must be listened to. No more tears.